


Must Love Dogs and Aliens

by littlebrother



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: (Yet?), F/F, Kara has powers but isn't supergirl, Kara is bad at hiding the fact she's an alien, Lena is too gay to notice though, SuperCorp, dog walker Kara, gay mess Lena, lots of dogs, some Krypton feels, some lex feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-03-07 09:43:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 42,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13432071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlebrother/pseuds/littlebrother
Summary: When Lena inherits Lex's dog and has no idea what she's doing, she knows she needs help. Professional help. Luckily, Supergirl's Super Dog Sitting Service is here!(or: Kara and Lena fall in love and there are also dogs)





	1. Supergirl's Super Dog Sitting Service

It is late, and Lena sits on her couch with a glass of Merlot in one hand and a holographic business card in the other. At one angle, it reads _Supergirl’s Super Dog Sitting Service_ , and has a little cartoon of a dog sitting politely at a woman’s feet. Lena tilts the card, and the dog jumps into the woman’s arms as she flashes a thumbs up.

Lucy’s back rises and falls as she huffs out a sigh, expelling hot air against Lena’s thigh. Lena hums in vague agreement and buries her hand in the Australian Shepherd’s thick, luxurious fur. 

Lex had named her Lucifer, but when Lena had taken the giant fluffball in, she’d decided to change that immediately. Being a Luthor gives her a bad enough reputation as it is; she doesn’t need to be walking around with a dog named after the devil himself on top of it.

Lucy didn’t seem to mind. She was too busy moping around the apartment, gazing sadly out the window and being generally apathetic towards everything and everyone.

The final straw came when Lena found herself googling _is my dog depressed?_ between meetings with investors. Lucy needed help. _Lena_ needed help. Professional help.

Help came in the form of Jess slipping a business card onto her desk that same afternoon. “She comes highly recommended, Miss Luthor. Cat said she worked wonders with Zeus,” she informed her. Lena picked up the business card and looked it over. If this ‘Supergirl’ could handle Cat Grant’s entitled Doberman, she must have been good at what she did.

Lena strokes her fingers through Lucy’s fur. Lucy sighs again.

“You miss your dad, don’t you?” Lena murmurs.

A pair of eyes—one green and one blue—blink back at her in response.

Lena takes a sip of her wine, swilling it over her tongue before she swallows it down. “Yeah. Me too.”

She exchanges the business card for her phone, sending off an email to Jess instructing her to contact this ‘Supergirl’.

***

Lena answers the door to a grin that is far too wide and much too bright for her pre-espresso state. Said grin is flanked by the deepest dimples Lena has ever seen, sunshine golden locks that stream out from a navy ball cap, and bespectacled blue eyes that sparkle like they have no idea the sun has barely risen.

“Good morning, Miss Luthor!” the woman on her doorstep says cheerily, and with enough enthusiasm to shock Lena into a somewhat more awake state. “Supergirl’s Super Dog Sitting Service at your, ah, your...service!”

Lena looks the woman up and down. She’s wearing a plaid button-down open over a blue t-shirt, faded jeans, and has accessorised with six (no, _seven_ , Lena amends, spotting the squat pekingese buried between a golden retriever and border collie) dogs attached by a rainbow of leads lashed to an industrial grade belt around her hips.

“I suppose that makes you the super girl?” Lena asks, arching an eyebrow. “Any relation to the, ah...boy scout in blue?”

The description drops wryly off her tongue, weighed down by all kinds of Lex-related baggage. Personally, Lena doesn’t have anything against the Man of Steel; honestly, she really can’t afford to. The press would be all over her if she so much as _thinks_ something negative about Superman. They’re already saying it is only a matter of time before she turns out mad, just like her brother.

“Who?” the woman on her doorstep blinks. “Oh, uh...you mean, Superman? Nope, no relation, just a, uh, a branding coincidence!” she insists and normally, darting eyes and a pitched-too-high voice would set Lena’s bullshit meter right off, but honestly Lena is more than a little dazed by Supergirl’s toothpaste commercial smile as she quickly moves on to say, “Oh! And this must be the super dog!” Supergirl leans over to poke her head around Lena’s legs, where Lucy has her head buried firmly into the backs of Lena’s thighs. “Hey, girl,” Supergirl coos, outstretching a hand. “You’re a little shy, aren’t you? Don’t worry, we’ll be friends in no time.”

Supergirl’s voice is calm, and gentle, and washes over Lena like that first sip of coffee in the morning she is so desperately craving right now. Lena watches as Supergirl reaches for her belt and unzips one of the compartments, from which she withdraws a bright red dog treat in the shape of a bone.

“Oh, please don’t,” Lena says, perhaps too abruptly judging by the deer-in-headlights look Supergirl gives her. “Lucy is gluten free,” Lena explains.

“Of course,” Supergirl says professionally, tucking the biscuit away. “Organic?”

“Preferably.”

Supergirl nods and reaches into a separate zipper, retrieving a green heart-shaped treat which she holds out towards Lucy. Lucy edges out from behind Lena’s legs, nose twitching as she sniffs curiously at the offered treat. Supergirl waits patiently, until Lucy finally curls a long, pink tongue around the treat and gobbles it up, even hanging around to give her hand a couple of companionable licks before retreating back to the safety of Lena’s legs. Supergirl beams brightly up at an astounded Lena.

“It took me a week to get Lucy to let me pet her,” Lena mumbles, a little dejected.

Supergirl shrugs casually. “It’s my job.” Supergirl’s companions seemed to be growing restless behind her. A corgi sits on its rear and scratches agitatedly, whimpering a little, while the pekingese butts at the golden retriever’s legs, who pants and either doesn’t notice or doesn’t mind.

Supergirl turns and utters a clipped, undulating word that didn’t sound at all like English. Whatever it is, it seems to calm the dogs, and they all sit politely and wait patiently once again.

Lena eyes Supergirl’s horde of dogs a little uncertainly. She has to admit, she hadn’t been expecting Supergirl to have so many other clients. She is paying this woman a lot of money (or, at least, she presumes she is; Jess handled all the details); she’d expected this service to be a bit more...particular.

“You sure have your hands full,” she notes, unable to keep the scepticism from her voice.

Supergirl smiles, scratching the golden retriever’s head. “Dogs are social animals,” she explains, having picked up on Lena’s apprehension. “It’s been proven that dogs who regularly spend time with other dogs are more well adjusted, healthier, and happier. Your assistant’s email led me to believe that Lucy is a little...down in the dumps?” she asks delicately.

Lena sighs and drops to her knees, cupping Lucy’s furry face in both her hands. “I’m worried about her,” she admits, her own eyes reflected back at her in Lucy’s thousand-yard stare. “She came to me under...difficult circumstances. Her owner—my brother—he...couldn’t take care of her anymore. So, she came to me. But, my schedule is incredibly demanding, and I don’t have the time to give her the attention she needs, and I don’t know the first thing about taking care of a dog anyway so this is probably all my fault really—”

“Hey.”

Lena cuts herself off mid-sentence and slides her eyes across to the hand that has settled on her shoulder. It is warm, like the sun on her skin those two times she’s worn a tank top outside, and brings with it a comforting weight that settles her spiking nerves.

“You did the right thing, asking for help,” Supergirl says kindly, then gives Lena a serious look. “I swear to you, no harm will ever come to Lucy under my watch. I swear this on almighty Rao himself, I swear this on my very honour as a dog sitter. I will protect Lucy with my life, and put her wellbeing above all things.”

Most of those words make no sense to Lena—probably some dogsitting jargon—but Supergirl speaks with such authority, such self-assuredness, that Lena can’t help but believe her.

“...okay.”

“Great!” Supergirl beams, and it’s dazzling. “Let’s get Lucy set up then.” Supergirl rummages through her bag and pulls out a thick, green leash and harness set. Lena coaxes Lucy out from behind her legs, encouraging her towards Supergirl. Eventually, Supergirl manages to get Lucy into the harness and clips the leash onto her hip.

Straightening up, Supergirl beams down at Lucy with satisfaction. “Perfect fit. You know, Lucy is one of the bigger dogs I’ve looked after,” she comments, measuring Lucy against where she comes up to just under her ribs. “Well, except for Zeus here,” she adds, reaching around to pat a stoic doberman.

“Oh, hello Zeus,” Lena says, like she is greeting an LuthorCorp employee in the hallway.

“You know Zeus?”

“Cat is an old family friend,” Lena answers. “Even still, after...everything.”

Supergirl looks a little perplexed, but doesn’t inquire further, and instead turns her attention back to the dogs. “Looks like you might have a friend already, Lucy-loo.”

Lena wants to cringe at the nickname, she really does, but...it's actually pretty endearing, at least when Supergirl says it.

“So, how is this going to work?” Lena asks. She can feel trepidation creeping up her spine once again, even more potent now that Lucy is leashed to this stranger and about to go God knows where.

Supergirl gives her an assuring smile. “Well, I’ve got a big walk planned for today which will end up at the park, where the dogs will be able to run around and tire themselves out. I’ll be watching Lucy to see how she fits in with the group, and I’ll spend some one-on-one time with her to get to know her and what she needs. Basically, we’ll just hang out all day,” Supergirl reports and flashes her charming grin. “I know, I can’t believe this is my job either. What time would you like me to drop Lucy back home?”

Lena rubs at the back of her neck, reminding herself that letting Lucy go with this Supergirl and her band of dogs is what’s best for her: better than lying around on the floor while Lena is at work all day.

“Oh, I usually get home around nine or ten...I know that’s quite late for most people, so I can try to come home earlier if that’s more convenient.”

“Not a problem,” Supergirl insists with a shake of her head. “I provide an extensive service; it’s intended to suit your schedule. I have clients from all around the world—I mean, the city! They, uh, they all have different schedules, so I have pickup and drop-off slots all throughout the day. Ten, you said? I can do that. Just text me if anything changes.”

Lena blinks back in a daze, until she finally nods. “O...okay.”

Supergirl’s face cracks into one of those dazzling grins she seems to have in endless supply. “It’s perfectly normal to be nervous on your first day. You’re doing great, Miss Luthor.”

Lena’s mouth dangles open in a small ‘o’ shape, quite unsure what to do with Supergirl’s comfort and positivity and, oh gosh, _praise_. So she just mumbles out a small “thank you,” and narrowly avoids being swiped by Lucy’s darting tail when a poodle makes to sniff her rear.

“We’ll get out of your hair, then!” Supergirl chirps. “Have a good day, Miss Luthor. Please, don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns.” She tips her head politely and directs her thousand-watt smile to the dogs. “All right, gang! Good work waiting so patiently. Now, to the dog park!”

Lena is amazed by how Supergirl cruises smoothly down the hallway with all those dogs attached to her, like they weigh nothing at all. Lucy trails towards the back, tail tucked between her legs and an uncertain expression on her face that makes Lena’s heart strain against her ribcage with the desire to follow.

“Um…” Lena flounders, realising she has no idea what this woman’s name is. “Supergirl?” she ends up squeaks out.

The woman whips around, and the squashed-faced pekingese is flung into the fluffy golden retriever.

“Oh! My name isn’t actually Supergirl,” she laughs, musical and lovely. “It’s Kara. Kara Danvers.”

Lena swallows, blushing a little at the ridiculous fact that she’s been referring to her as ‘Supergirl’ in her own mind.

“Of course. Miss Danvers—”

“Just Kara. If you don’t mind.”

“Right. Kara. Please...take care of her. She’s been through a lot; she’s just lost her dad and, well. She’s fragile.”

Supergirl—no, _Kara_ softens, her eyes warm as she gazes down at Lucy and gives her a scratch behind the ears.

“Of course, Miss Luthor. You have nothing to worry about. I’m a professional.” Kara smiles, and doesn’t break eye contact as she yanks her duffel bag away from a hungry and curious corgi.

*

Lena is home and showered by nine-thirty, and she waits anxiously on the couch for ten to roll around. It’s strange, how empty her apartment feels without the 80 pound lump of fur Lena has grown accustomed to coming home to. Sure, Lucy merely pokes her head up from her bed in the corner when Lena comes through the door before setting it back down again, yawning through Lena wincing as she removes her heels from aching feet, but still...it’s something. It’s company.

The minute hand ticks over to point straight up, and Lena is halfway through looking up ‘Supergirl’ in her contact list when there is a gentle, but confident knock on the door. Lena instantly springs up from the couch, fixing her hair as she pads over to the door and flings it open.

“Lucy!” Lena gasps, with more vigour and happiness than she has come to expect from herself. She drops down to her knees and wraps her arms around Lucy’s bulk, burying her face into soft fur. Lucy, meanwhile, lets out the dog equivalent of a sigh, and allows the hug to happen.

“Here she is, back in one piece just like I promised.”

Lena pokes her head up from the mass of fur to look up at Kara. She is still smiling like she had been that morning, but there is a content sort of tiredness around her eyes, the kind that comes from having a fulfilling but long day. The ball cap is gone, and her hair falls around her shoulders in soft waves, rippling like water as Kara stifles a yawn and runs a hand through it.

Lena picks herself up from her unexpectedly overt display of affection, straightening out her top and brushing some loose pieces of fur off of it. “How was she? Did she get along with the other dogs? Did she eat properly?” Lena slips into full CEO mode, hands clasped in front of her as she fires off her questions.

Kara simply laughs easily in response to Lena’s directness. “It was a good first day, all things considered.”

Lena eyes her skeptically. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well,” Kara replies, a thoughtful look on her face. “She kept to herself a lot. Wasn’t too fond of interacting with the other dogs, although she seemed to tolerate Zeus, which isn’t nothing. I’d love to speak with you more, to find out about Lucy’s history and about your relationship with her.”

“How about now?” Lena blurts out, and she curses the desperation that edged into her voice.  Kara blinks back in surprise, eyes flitting up to the clock in Lena’s entry room. “O-or some other time, I understand it’s late, but...I have tea,” she offers weakly.

Kara eases into a smile, blonde strands of hair falling into her face as she nods. “Tea sounds lovely.”

Kara sits on one of Lena’s barstools, legs dangling and thudding sporadically against Lena’s kitchen island. Lena is hyper aware of Kara’s eyes wandering over the apartment while she busies herself with the kettle and cups. Kara is probably wondering where her family photos and personal effects are. Sometimes, Lena thinks this apartment could belong to any generic rich person. Now, with Kara sitting in it (her first guest ever, she realises), Lena feels a bit ashamed.

“Your place is incredible,” Kara remarks, surely out of politeness rather than actually meaning it.

Lena offers a flitting smile before she turns back around and checks the kettle. It is one of those Swedish-looking glass ones, where she can see the water rioting as it boils. It’s probably her favourite possession, and isn’t _that_ a sad realisation.

“Thank you. I haven’t had time to decorate or anything, I only moved here a month ago,” Lena excuses vaguely. The water boils, and Lena pours it into two mugs.

“Milk? Sugar?”

“Just a dash, and three and a half please.”

Lena arches an eyebrow. “Three and a half?”

“Oh, make it four then.”

Lena bites back a comment, and loads four teaspoons of sugar into Kara’s mug.

They move to the couch, where Lucy lopes right on up and settled her head in Lena’s lap, sighing as Lena pats her head. Kara watches them, lips curving up into a wry smile over the rim of her mug.

“We might need to work on establishing boundaries,” Kara remarks.

Lena’s hand stills in Lucy’s fur, automatically on the defensive. “What do you mean?”

“I mean...it’s your couch, isn’t it? Lucy just wandered on up here like she owns the place, and now her muzzle is practically in your tea.”

Lena gasps and jerks her mug away from Lucy’s sniffing nose, yelping as tea splashes all over herself.

“Oh, gosh, Miss Luthor I’m so sorry.” Kara apologises profusely. She sets her mug down on Lena’s coffee table, and next thing Lena knows, Kara has whipped her flannel off and is using it to dab at Lena’s collarbone, forgetting all about any social protocols regarding personal space as she leans right over to really get that tea out and _oh my, Kara must work out._

Lena drags her gaze from Kara’s bulging biceps, which she is using to brace herself on the back of the couch, to meet her brilliant blue eyes just centimetres away from her.

“Perhaps...we should work on establishing some boundaries ourselves.”

And maybe Lena is flirting, just a little. Maybe she’s dropped her voice into that lower register she _knows_ has a 93.3% success rate (and, really, it isn’t her fault that the French ambassador was called away to a diplomatic emergency partway through their date). But Kara is the first attractive ( _very_ attractive, as Lena is increasingly noticing) woman in her apartment in longer than Lena can remember, so who would blame her?

Kara rocks back into her original corner of the couch, cheeks tinged pink as she fiddles with the arm of her glasses.

“I apologise, Miss Luthor, that was pretty unprofessional of me, I just—you didn’t burn yourself, did you?”

Lena glances down at her person. Splotches of tea have soaked into her long-sleeved top and will probably leave a stain, but she is otherwise unscathed by the incident.

“I’m quite alright,” she reports. “What were you saying again? About—about boundaries?” Lena asked, grimacing as she pushes Lucy’s head down when she attempts to lick at one of the tea splotches on her shoulder.

Kara clears her throat and (unfortunately) puts her flannel back on over her t-shirt. “Yes, boundaries. It’s important for a dog to have boundaries, especially in the home. There needs to be a line between human spaces and Lucy spaces. Right now, every space seems to be a Lucy space,” Kara notes, observing the way Lucy’s sprawled out mass was taking up most of the couch.

Lena’s brow furrows. “Well...that doesn’t seem right. Who am I to say I’m better than Lucy?”

“You’re a human. Lucy is a dog.”

“So?”

“Dogs need to know their place in the pack. Humans are the alphas, or at least, they’re supposed to be.”

“Hm,” Lena hums, considering this information. It does make sense, but there is something within her that makes her resistant to the idea. “But...I like having her close to me,” Lena confesses quietly, once she’s figured out what it is.

When Lex was Lucy’s owner, they’d had an amicable relationship, wherein Lena would occasionally sneak her extra treats and Lucy would sit next to her if Lex wasn’t around, but Lex was really the light in Lucy’s life. Just like he had been in Lena’s, before…well, before.

Lucy hadn’t understood why Lex wasn’t around anymore when he went to prison. Why Lena was suddenly the one feeding her and taking her for walks and looking after her. Lucy waited by the door of Lex’s study in the Luthor Mansion, a sentry on an endless watch, but he never came home. And he never would.

Lucy made a point of keeping her distance from Lena, accepting food and the occasional head pat, but neither seeking out nor offering anything more. Until the day of Lex’s trial, when Lena stood up and testified against him. The way he looked at her, his eyes so full of contempt and disgust and rage, had bored into her very soul.

She’d dropped a glass in the kitchen, and collapsed to her knees when her lungs refused to work. For the first time in two weeks, Lucy had left her post in front of Lex’s door to appear by Lena’s side and press into her until she could breathe again. Since that day, Lucy seemed resigned to the fact that Lex wasn’t coming home, and Lena decided it would be best for both of them to move.

Kara is looking at her with a kind, warm smile while Lena fades momentarily into her memories. “That’s okay, too,” Kara assures her. “It just has to be on your terms. We’ll work on it, if you like.”

“What do you think, Lucy?” Lena asks, and receives no response. “Okay, we’ll work on it,” Lena answers anyway.

“Great. So...tell me more about you and Lucy. How long have you had her?”

“Technically, only six weeks. We moved here about a month ago for a fresh start. For both of us.”

Kara hums and took a sip of her tea. “You mentioned she belonged to your brother.”

“Yes,” Lena says, and she can already feel her chest becoming tight at the thought of him. She tries not to think about the way his hands would shake when he went on one of his rants. Instead, she thinks of the time she found Lex and Lucy in a cuddle pile in the middle of his floor, completely tangled up in each other, and the memory makes her smile. She buries her hand in Lucy’s fur, who continues looking despondently into space.

“You should have seen Lucy when she was with him. They were inseparable, and Lucy was so...so happy.” Lena says, a sad smile lingering on her lips.

“Your brother—”

“Lex,” Lena says abruptly. Every second the big ‘alien hater Lex Luthor who went on a murderous rampage’ elephant in the room goes unaddressed is twisting her up inside. “Lex Luthor. My brother is Lex Luthor.”

She watches Kara closely, waiting for the moment she would recoil, the moment she would shrink away, the moment she decides this wasn’t worth her time. It never comes.

“Right. Sure, so Lex—”

“Doesn’t that mean anything to you? Haven’t you seen the news?”

Kara holds her gaze. She doesn’t look away, she doesn’t refuse to meet her eyes. She just...stays.

“I’ve read the papers, Miss Luthor. I know who your brother is, and I know what he did,” she says calmly. “But I’m not talking to Lex. I’m talking to Lena.”

(Later, Lena will wonder if she really is that much of a cliche, and if her heart really does skip a beat when Kara says her name for the first time.)

Kara is smiling kindly at her, and it was so inviting, so incredibly sincere and _warm_ —just like everything about her, it seems—that Lena finds herself getting lost in it, completely transfixed, absolutely mesmerised...until a shrill beeping jerks her back into the room, and she realises she’s probably been staring for far too long.

With a small shake of her head, Kara presses a button on her sportswatch. “Golly, I’d better go. I’m picking up a client from China...town, Chinatown soon.”

Lena’s eyes widen. “Kara, it’s nearly eleven o’clock at night!”

“Not in China it isn’t,” Kara mumbles under her breath in an aside, then covers it up with a laugh. “Part of the service means I’m available to my clients and their pups at all hours,” she explains. “And that means you, too. Call me anytime.”

Lena shakes her head incredulously. “And I thought I was a workaholic. How do you do it?”

Kara beams brightly. “They don’t call me ‘Supergirl’ for nothing! Same time tomorrow morning?”

“Yes, if that’s alright.”

“Of course,” Kara says as she gathers her things. “Thank you for the tea.”

Lena and Lucy walk Kara to the door, where Kara drops to her knees and murmurs something unintelligible into Lucy’s ear before she gives her an affectionate pat. “See you tomorrow, Lucy-loo,” she says as she straightens up with a smile. “Good evening, Miss Luthor,” she says, and leaves with a polite nod.

“You like her, don’t you?” Lena murmurs as she leans against the doorframe and watches Kara disappear into the elevator down the hall. Lucy’s tail gives the slightest wag. “Yeah. Me too.”


	2. Lena has a good day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy gets her way, Lena and Kara spend a day together with the dogs.

Kara picks Lucy up every morning that week. It becomes part of Lena’s routine; a shiny new fixture in her life she can look forward to.

Every morning, she wakes up, showers, gets dressed, applies her makeup, checks her emails, plays some solitaire on her phone, feeds Lucy, makes two coffees—the first: black, in a ceramic mug; the second: a latte, with four sugars, in a to-go cup—and answers the door to a sunny grin and the usual merry band of dogs at precisely 7am.

Kara thanks her for her coffee as she clips Lucy’s green leash to her harness. She insists that Lena doesn’t have to do that, but Lena wants to, so she does.

Come Saturday, Lena’s brow furrows at 7.05 when there still is no knock at the door. Then she isn’t scheduled to be at the office today, and no office means no dog sitting, and no dog sitting means no Kara.

“Damn.”

Lena takes a sip of the latte, grimaces at its overwhelming sweetness, and pours it down the sink.

Lucy sits by the door of the apartment, so close her nose points straight up in the air, tail thumping impatiently on the hardwood floor. Lena quirks an eyebrow at her as she looks at her dog over the top of her laptop.

“Sorry, Luce. No Kara today.”

Lucy gazes back at her with literal puppy eyes, her tail thumping more insistently. The noise continues, and there is no way Lena is going to get any work done like this, so she sighs and walks over to the entry hall closet, rummaging around until she finds the suede harness and leash set Lex had bought for Lucy.

“All right, Luce. Let’s go for a walk.”

They make it to the footpath just outside Lena’s building, at which point, Lucy decides she doesn’t really want to walk, and simply refuses to move.

Lena gives the mammoth dog an exasperated look and tugs futilely on the leash.

“Come on, Luce,” she pleads through grit teeth. “Isn’t this what you want? I know I’m not Supergirl, but work with me here!”

Lucy doesn’t budge, and instead sits on her rear.

After ten minutes of tugging, pushing, begging, and trying to reason with the animal, Lena gives up and flops down onto the pavement next to Lucy. Lucy pants next to her, and if Lena didn’t know better, she’d say the dog looks downright pleased with herself.

Out of ideas, the CEO on the pavement pulls out her phone and calls for help.

_“Supergirl’s Super Dog Sitting Service, this is Supergirl, how can I help?”_

“Supergirl! I mean—Kara!” Lena stammers, embarrassingly caught off guard by the cheerful voice right in her ear.

_“Miss Luthor! Hi, how are you?”_

“Oh, you know…” Lena hides her face from a passing woman in branded athletic wear carrying a yoga mat, who looks condescendingly down at Lena on the floor. “Just fine. Listen, I’m sorry to bother you on your weekend, I know you must be busy or just want to relax or whatever, but,” Lena draws in a breath, pinching at the bridge of her nose. “I seem to be having some trouble with Lucy.”

_“Oh? What kind of trouble?”_

“She having trouble walking.”

_“Did she injure herself?”_

“No, no. She’s...fine,” Lena says, sparing a moment to cut a glare in Lucy’s direction. “She’s just refusing to walk. I’m sorry, this is so silly, I just don’t know what to do—” Lena rambles, feeling dumber by the second until Kara’s kind voice cuts through and promptly assuages her fears.

_“It’s fine, Miss Luthor. This is what I’m here for. Where are you?”_

“Just outside my building,” Lena answers in a small voice.

_“I’ll be right there.”_

When Kara says she’ll be ‘right there’, Lena doesn’t realise how literally she means it. No less than eight seconds after she’s hung up the phone, Kara is striding around the corner, beaming as she waves and plucked a few leaves from her windswept hair. A squat, heavy-set corgi trots in her wake, tugged along by a bright red leash.

Lena blinks up at her in a daze as Kara stands over her, the sunlight haloing behind her blonde head making her look like one of heaven’s angels, or some romantic figure straight out of a renaissance painting. Lena may forget to breathe for a few seconds, and Kara laughing and settling her hands on her hips as she cocks her head to the side certainly doesn’t help the matter.

“Now this looks like the opposite of a walk. This looks like a sit,” Kara chuckles, and extends a hand out to Lena. Lena accepts it, and gasps as Kara pulls her to her feet with astonishing ease.

“You got here fast,” Lena remarks breathlessly.

“We were in the neighbourhood. My favourite cafe is right around the corner.” Kara holds up a paper bag that is slightly translucent in the bottom from whatever greasy food makes up its contents. Her expression turns stern as she looks at Lucy. “Now, Lucy, what’s going on?”

Lena blushes, holding the leash limply in her hands. “She won’t walk.”

“That’s funny. I’ve never had a problem getting her to walk,” Kara remarks, perplexed.

Lena frowns, ignoring the pang of envy encroaching upon her stomach. “That’s because you’re…” she gestures her hand vaguely over Kara’s person, “Supergirl.”

Kara chuckles, scratching the back of her neck and looking a little bashful. “It’s my job. Do you mind if I…” Kara trails off, indicating for Lucy’s leash. Lena hands her the leash and the moment she does, Lucy is standing up and wagging her tail, looking very happy to have gotten her way.

Lena’s jaw drops open. “This has got to be a joke,” she mutters, and Kara just laughs.

“Don’t take it personally, Miss Luthor. Even dogs have a sense of humour, and considering how down you said Lucy’s been lately, maybe we should think of this as progress.”

“Always the optimist,” Lena remarks weakly. “I’m so sorry for wasting your time, Kara, you have no idea how embarrassed I feel right now.”

Kara waves her hand in blatant refusal to accept Lena’s apology. “It’s no trouble. Willow seems glad to see Lucy anyway,” she remarks as the corgi chases Lucy around Kara’s legs in an attempt to sniff her butt. Kara expertly maneuvers the leashes so she doesn’t get tangled up, her brilliant beam never slipping from her face.

“Just Willow today?” Lena asks, noticing Kara’s usual cacophony of dogs is absent from her waist.

“Yeah,” Kara answered. “Lizzie—that’s her owner—asks me to give Willow some special attention from time to time.” Kara crosses the space between them to whisper conspiringly in Lena’s ear: “I’m helping her lose weight. She’s kind of...fat.”

Lena blinks down at the overweight corgi, who is busy snapping fruitlessly at Kara’s pastry bag, which is held high enough that it is just out of reach.

Kara eases back, and Lena misses the proximity instantly. “So, once a week she gets me all to herself,” Kara says happily.

 _Lucky dog,_ Lena thinks.

“I’m sorry to have interrupted your private session with Willow. I’m sure I can handle it from here,” Lena says, trying to cling on to any remaining vestige of dignity.

“Not at all, Miss Luthor,” Kara says brightly. “Maybe we could walk together? It’s a beautiful day. Do you like doughnuts?”

Lena vaguely thinks about the very sensible egg-white and spinach omelette she’d eaten for breakfast as she eyes the bag in Kara’s hand containing a fried carbohydrates and sugar combination that is sure to ruin her diet.

She smiles anyway. “Well... I am human.”

Kara’s face-splitting grin will be worth every calorie.

Kara holds both Lucy and Willow’s leashes while Lena eats her doughnut, picking pieces off with her fingers before popping them in her mouth as she watches Kara. The smile on her face is effortless, like she’s never had a bad day in her life. Lena might have envied it, if it weren’t so beautiful.

“Lucy seemed disappointed not to see you this morning,” Lena comments conversationally. “I think spending time with you and the dogs is really helping her.”

“I’m glad to hear it. It’s important that she gets to spend time with you, though. You are her owner, at the end of the day.”

Lena scoffs a bit and east the last piece of her doughnut. “It doesn’t feel like I am. Sometimes I feel like I’m just babysitting her, just until Lex gets back.”

“He’s not coming back,” Kara says simply.

“I...I know that.”

“He’s in jail.”

Lena stops in her tracks, her brows knitting together. “Yes, I’m aware. I put him there.”

Kara stops a couple of steps ahead and glances back at her over her shoulder. Her tone is firm, but kind—still, it catches Lena a little of guard. “He put himself there. No one else is to blame, especially not you. Lucy is yours now; you are her owner. The sooner you believe that, the better it will be for the both of you. Here.”

Lena’s eyes flick down to the leash Kara holds out to her. Her hesitation is fuelled by thinking about how Lucy wouldn’t walk for her, and fear that Lucy won’t walk for her again. She doesn’t think she could handle the embarrassment.

Kara smiles in encouragement. Lena takes the leash. Lucy walks.

“Good girl,” Kara says (to Lucy, of course, Lena explicitly tells herself), and they continue walking.

Lena nips at her lower lip, thinking about what Kara had said. Kara is probably the first person she has met who doesn’t assume she is an alien hating radical, like her brother. She doesn’t think she’d betrayed her family by testifying against Lex either, like she knows certain LuthorCorp board members and execs are whispering behind her back. Boy, are they in for a shock when they find out she plans to rename the company...

“Is everything always so black and white with you?” Lena finds herself asking.

“Huh? Oh,” Kara blushes faintly and scrubs at the back of her neck. “Alex—my sister, that is—she says I can be a little, ah, straightforward. I suppose I don’t spend much time around humans. Uh, because I’m always with the dogs, that is! I have plenty of human friends. Yep, can’t get enough of humans, like myself. A human.” Kara’s blush spreads from her cheeks down to her neck like a forest fire, but she quickly recovers. “Um...sorry if I offended you.”

Lena is equally perplexed as she is charmed by Kara’s behaviour. She is...a little strange. Charming, but strange. Lena is inexplicably drawn to it.

“Not at all. I think I needed to hear it,” she says.

Lena sighs as she gazes down the leash at Lucy walking ahead, sniffing occasionally at random spots on the ground. It reminds Lena of walking with Lex and Lucy by the lake in Metropolis, back when Lex’s rants were about the finer points of quantum entanglement theory rather than the scourge the alien population is on the human race.

“She’s all I have left to remember the good parts of Lex,” Lena says quietly. “I don’t want to mess this up. I’ve, um, been thinking about committing to coming home earlier for her. Things were pretty crazy when we first moved, what with relocating the company headquarters and the fallout from Lex’s trial—and they still are—but I think I can come home a couple of hours earlier; I’ll work from home if I have to.”

Lena is rambling, and she knows that. Words coming out before she can edit them properly, make sure they are crisp and clear. But Kara listens attentively, nodding and smiling, and it is almost too easy to just let her unfiltered thoughts out.

“I think that’s a great idea. I’m sure Lucy will appreciate seeing more of you.”

Lena laughs a bit and shakes her head in disbelief. “Honestly, I think she likes you more than me. She nearly cried when you didn’t show up this morning.” _And so did I._

“Only because I take her to cool places and bring all her friends—I think she and Zeus have a bit of a romance going on.” Kara leans over to murmur this into her ear, and Lena gets goosebumps as her warm breath skates across her skin.

Lena does her best to keep herself from blushing like a smitten schoolgirl. “Good thing Lucy is spayed. I can barely handle one of her as it is.”

“Oh, but their puppies would be the _cutest_ ,” Kara says wistfully, and Lena swears she does a little skip in the air. “And Lucy so does like you. You just need to give each other time.”

They come to National City Metro park: a square of lush green that interrupts the patchwork of buildings, streets, and bustling city life. Lena has been meaning to bring Lucy here since they’d moved to National City, but she’s never found the time.

The park is full of families with picnic blankets, food vendors selling things both salty and sweet (and all catching Kara’s eye), children, laughing and squealing with delight as they chase each other across rolling hills. Young couples stride confidently along pristinely paved paths with dogs of all shapes and sizes. Lena briefly wonders if an outsider might mistake her and Kara as one of them.

Lucy’s tail wags harder than Lena has seen it do since they moved, and she lets out a surprised laugh. “Someone’s happy!” she remarks.

And then her arms are nearly ripped from their sockets when Lucy decides to bolt across the lawn. Lena yelps in shock and really can’t do anything but be dragged helplessly after her, legs whirling as she struggles to keep up.

Behind her, Kara scoops Willow up onto her shoulder and takes off after them. If Lena wasn’t too busy yelling at children to get out of the way, she would have been alarmed by Kara’s inhuman speed.

Lena’s arms strain to keep hold of the leash, and her grip is slipping. Then, a pair of incredibly strong arms wrap around her waist and squeeze. Lena is lifted into the air; Kara’s heels dig into the earth, spraying dirt and grass everywhere as she carves twin trenches through the lawn.

Kara shouts something in a language Lena doesn’t understand, and as suddenly as she’d taken off, Lucy stops and turns around, eyes bright and tail fiercely wagging.

Lena feels Kara relax behind her, and is suddenly acutely aware of Kara’s front pressed up against her back and her arms wrapped firmly around her midsection. Willow pops her head up over Lena’s shoulder, drooling a little on her jacket, and Lena realises she is still ten inches above the ground.

“Um...Kara? Could you maybe...put me down?”

“What? Oh, sorry.”

Kara shifts her weight to place Lena back on the ground, who takes a few steps like a newly born gazelle. Lena secures her grip on Lucy’s leash and flattens her brow.

“Lucy, come,” she says firmly, in a tone that almost sounds like Lex. Lucy’s tail drops between her legs and she trots back towards them, sitting at Lena’s feet.

“Gosh, Lucy goose what made you run off like that?” Kara wonders aloud as she deposits an indignant Willow back onto the ground.

And then Lena’s heart is in her throat because she is looking at Lex—or at least, the spitting image of him. Right down to the brown leather oxfords.

With a sigh, she crouches down in front of Lucy and pats her head. “It’s not him, girl,” she murmurs. She takes an extra moment to steady her breathing. She pretends to check Lucy’s leash and harness are fastened securely before glancing over her shoulder up at Kara. “Good save, Supergirl. You’re really fast,” she adds, flashing a quick smile as she stands back up, keeping her eyes firmly away from Lex’s doppelganger playing aeroplane with a little girl.

Kara laughs bashfully and shrugs, making a dismissive hand gesture. “I ran track in college. Keeping up with the dogs keeps me in shape too.”

Lena hums in assent, and can’t help letting her eyes flit a little indulgently over Kara’s person. “Indeed.”

They have no further incidents as they continue walking along the path—well, aside from Kara nearly getting into an argument with a hotdog vendor over exactly how much ‘extra’ onion entails, until Lena slips the man a fifty and he gives Kara all the onion she wants.

Eventually, they come to an off-leash dog area, where a number of happy canines are running free, chasing after balls, or just lazing around in the sun. Lena is a little nervous as she unclips Lucy from her leash, but Kara insists it will be fine, that she’s brought her here before with no problems. Freed from her leash, Lucy follows her nose wherever it decides to take her, happy to do her own explorations and mostly ignore the other dogs.

Kara claims a spot for them on a grassy hill that overlooks the dog park and flops down to the ground. Willow trots alongside them and settles into Kara’s lap, preferring that to running around in the open space.

Lena glances around before she sits herself down. The grass is cool underneath her, and the sun shines warm and bright on her face. Come to think of it, she can’t remember the last time she’s sat down outside, let alone on the ground.

“Hotdog?” Kara asks, and offers her the unbitten end of her hotdog.

“Oh, no thank you. Still working on the doughnut,” Lena politely declines, and wonders where exactly Kara puts it all.

They sit side by side on the hill, watching the dogs run around and play together. Kara tells Lena stories about funny things she’s seen at the park in the past, as well as stories about the dogs she takes care of. She talks about Lizzie, Willow’s owner, who is apparently a riot with a shockingly foul mouth for a ninety-one year old. Lena is completely captivated, hanging onto every word and laughing easily at Kara’s animated expressions and lively storytelling.

A lot of people (and dogs) at the park seem to know Kara, tossing happy smiles and waves her way. It is an entirely new experience for Lena. Lena is used to strangers turning away from her, avoiding eye contact. They’ve heard enough in the media to form an opinion on psychotic Lex Luthor’s little sister.

But basking in the glow of the midmorning sun with Kara, Lena doesn’t feel ashamed or afraid to be out in public for the first time in months. She even finds herself smiling back on occasion. It’s like...sitting next to Kara, her last name could be anything. It could be Smith, or Brown, or Jones…

_or Danvers._

_Oh stop it, Lena, you useless lesbian!_

In a bid to distract herself, Lena picks a blade of grass from the ground and starts splitting it down the grain with her fingers. “Hey Kara? Can I ask you something?”

“Hm?” Kara hums, pulling her eyes from the frisbee-chasing border collie they’ve been watching for the past five minutes. Her dimples make an appearance when she smiled and answers, “sure!”

Lena inhales, wondering how on earth Kara Danvers, dog sitter and human embodiment of sunshine, can make Lena Luthor, cutthroat CEO and board room badass, so incredibly nervous.

“Sometimes when you speak to the dogs...you’re not speaking English, are you?”

“Oh!” Kara blinks, and tweaks the arm of her glasses. “You noticed.”

“It’s hard not to.”

“I suppose so.” Kara rocks back onto the heels of her palms. “No, it’s not English.”

“What is it? I couldn’t recognise it, before.”

Kara tips her face up towards the sun like a sunflower, the light glancing off of her cheeks and the ridge of her nose and her calm expression.

“It’s um...Kazakh.”

“As in...Kazakhstan?”

Kara nods and fails to meet Lena’s eye. “It’s where I’m from. I...left, when I was a child.”

She has this look on her face that Lena can’t quite place. Somewhere between longing and sorrow and remembering, and Lena feels like that isn’t all there is to the story, but she also knows it isn’t her place to ask.

“Oh. I never would have picked it.”

Kara smiles, and the look is gone. “No one does. My parents were both Americans—human Americans, much like yourself and also much like myself.”

“Right...”

Lena doesn’t miss the ‘were’. She doesn’t miss Kara invoking the language of the orphaned. She chooses not to poke further into what might be sensitive territory, and steers the conversation elsewhere with what she hopes is a sincere smile.

“Your language is very beautiful, from what I’ve heard of it.”

Kara blushes, and she pushes her glasses up her nose. “Thank you. The dogs respond well to the sounds, so I like to teach them a few phrases. I enjoy the opportunity to speak it, too, so everybody wins.”

Lena wonders if Kara has anyone else to speak her native language to, or if it’s just the dogs. Something about that thought makes her chest feel tight.

“You mentioned you had a sister,” she says, somewhat hopefully, “does she speak it too?”

“Alex?” Kara snorts and shakes her head. “No, I’m adopted.” Ah, there it is. “I tried teaching Alex some words, but she couldn’t get her tongue around the sounds. It was...a painful experience. For both of us,” Kara grimaces at the memory, then explains lightly, “she threw a book at my head.”

As Lena laughs, Lucy trots over and sits herself down, giant head in Lena’s lap. She’s successfully sniffed every tree, plant, and tuft of grass in the enclosure, so now it is time to rest. Lena’s hand buries itself in Lucy’s fur. It’s really starting to feel like it belongs there.

“Well it looks like Lucy’s going to be a bit bilingual,” Lena says, a smile on her face. “Do you charge extra for that?”

“Of course not, Miss Luthor,” Kara says seriously, missing the joke entirely.

“I’m kidding, Kara,” Lena says quickly. “You don’t have to call me Miss Luthor, by the way.”

“But you’re my boss. It’s professional, isn’t it?” Kara asks, head tilting to the side.

“Well, yes, technically, but...you’re not working for me right now, are you?”

Kara grins. “I suppose not.”

“So just Lena will be fine.”

“All right then. Lena.”

They decide to make a move and continue on their walk, so Willow can actually get some exercise. Kara takes long, quick strides, and doesn’t seem to notice that Lena is pretty much power walking to keep up. Luckily, Kara stops frequently to buy food. By the time they’ve completed a loop of the park, Kara has scarfed down two pretzels, a slice of pizza, a spicy chicken burrito, and a meatball sub. She always asks if Lena wants some, but Lena declines, her amazement (and slight horror) growing with each of Kara’s meals.

“So,” Lena says, eyes wide as Kara devours her sub while speed walking. “Why dogsitting?”

“Well,” Kara swallows, and wipes some sauce from the corner of her lips with her thumb before sticking it in her mouth.

(And Lena has never really been into food play per se, but at this exact moment she wants nothing more than to be covered from head to toe in marinara sauce.)

"It’s not the most exciting story,” Kara continues, oblivious to the wanderings of Lena’s mind. “I finished college, started interning at CatCo, and one day, Cat Grant got me to watch Zeus. She kind of left him at the intern’s desk with this ten-page document on how to take care of him. Turns out I was _really_ good at it. And then everything kind of clicked. I suppose...dogs just make sense to me. More than humans do, at least,” Kara says, and there’s that frown again, that crinkle between the brows that suggests to Lena that there’s something just below the surface of what Kara’s saying. She shakes her head a little, and smiles brightly as she pops the last mouthful of the sub into her mouth. “So I started my own business. I was making no money as an intern, and well...girl’s gotta eat, right?”

And Lena can’t help but let loose with a belly laugh at that. It is wholly unexpected and much too loud and probably shows too much gum, but Lena is past the point of being able to control herself—and maybe, for just a second, she doesn’t want to.

“What’s so funny?” Kara asks with a perplexed smile.

“Nothing, nothing.” Lena wipes at her eye, hoping to recompose herself as best as she can. “It’s just...you really do know how to eat.”

Kara’s response is to grin and toss her sub wrapper in the trash—the trash can is over forty feet away—and Lena would be shocked by it, if Kara doesn’t go on to say, “you have a great laugh, Lena.”

Lena doesn’t know what happens next, but the jumbled string of syllables and sounds that leave her mouth certainly don’t approach anything in English. Kara smiles anyway.

Kara decides she wants ice cream before they leave the park, and they queue up behind a young boy clutching a crumpled up five dollar bill in his fist. His face lights up when he receives his ice cream—an ambitious triple-scoop cone with much to be desired in the way of structural integrity.

Predictably, it falls to the floor. The boy stares at it for a full five seconds, his eyes shining with tears. Without thinking much of it, Lena cuts Kara off mid-order and orders the same flavours the boy got—but in a bowl instead. She hands Lucy’s leash off to Kara and goes over to crouch beside the boy, who is still mourning his fallen ice cream.

“Hi, um. Here you go,” Lena says, feeling a little shy as she offers the bowl out to him. He looks up at her with wide eyes, and she smiles. “It won’t fall out this way, see? And the spoon has a dinosaur on it.”

“Thanks lady,” the boy says as he accepts the ice cream from Lena’s hands.

A surge of warmth blooms across her chest as she straightens up and finds Kara watching, a fond sort of expression on her face.

“Garrett! Oh look what happened, I told you three scoops would be too much.”

When Lena looks back, the young boy’s mother is crouched next to him, frowning at the ice cream all over the floor.

“Mommy, look! This lady bought me another one.”

“Did you say thank you? That was very nice of her—” the woman cuts herself off when she looks up at Lena, her face falling instantly. She draws to her full height, straightening out her puffy vest. “You didn’t have to do that. We should get going,” she says briskly and steers her son away by the shoulders. As they walk away, Lena catches the woman saying: “don’t eat that, Garrett. Who knows what that Luthor woman has done to it?”

Lena deflates, the warmth she felt moments ago disappearing into a black hole at the center of her as she is reminded of who she really is to the public: a Luthor, wicked and evil, and not to be trusted. That’s all she’ll ever be. The gravel crunches as Kara steps up beside her, eyes narrowing as she watches the two walk away.

She’s extremely tense, Lena notices, her shoulders squared and her knuckles white around the dog leashes. Lucy is the same, rigid alongside Kara, as though anticipating a fight. The mother tosses the ice cream into a trash can and Kara sets her jaw, about to take a step when Lena grabs onto her wrist.

“Kara, don’t,” Lena says quietly. “It’s...it’s fine.”

“No it’s not.” Kara’s brow furrows, her eyes never leaving the woman.

Lena touches her hand to Kara’s arm, a little insistently. “Please, Kara. I’m used to it by now. It’s just not worth it, trust me.”

Kara watches the mother for a moment longer until she becomes lost in the crowd and sighs, some of the tension draining out of her. “That was...not nice.”

Lena doesn’t quite know what to do with this.

“I know...such a waste of perfectly good ice cream,” Lena deadpans, thinking humour would be a good deflection.

“That’s not what I—oh. You’re making a joke again. Funny,” Kara says, though she doesn’t laugh.

“Don’t you want to get your ice cream?” Lena asks, hoping it might distract Kara from the incident.

Kara shakes her head. “Nah. I’ve lost my appetite.”

Lena finds herself talking more as they continue, as Kara has gone a bit quiet. She talks about Lucy, mostly, about funny things she used to do with Lex—like sitting perfectly still with a piece of steak from his dinner balanced on her nose until he gave her the command and she’d gobble it up—and eventually Kara is smiling and laughing again.

As they leave the park, Kara notices that Lena’s cheeks and nose are slightly sunburnt, and pops her ball cap onto Lena’s head.

“It suits you,” Kara tells her, and despite the ice cream incident, Lena thinks it’s the best day she’s had since moving to National City. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS your responses to the first chapter were so nice and so funny, I really enjoyed reading them all! 
> 
> Kara saying she's from Kazakhstan is an idea I definitely borrowed from my pal's fic [The gayliens from the honourable house of El](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11621433/chapters/26130423) which is a good time and you should give her all the love. 
> 
> I've written about 2/3 of the fic annnd it got more feelsy towards than I anticipated (because apparently I can't just write a fluff fest featuring dogs oops). But for now let the good times roll!
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment/hit me up on the innernet, it makes my day hearing from you guys
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> xxx


	3. Gay Hiking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena and Kara + dogs go hiking and it's pretty gay

Kara runs with the dogs every morning after picking Lucy up, and loops Lena’s building at approximately 7:43. Lena knows this, because she purposely leaves twenty minutes later than usual so she can watch Kara pass her apartment from her balcony.

The first time she discovers this is an accident. She’s caught up on the phone talking through a technical issue with the team in Tokyo, pacing back and forth on her balcony while also working on her tablet, when she happens to glance down to the road—and for a second she forgets every word in Japanese she’s ever known and nearly drops her tablet into the street.

Because Kara Danvers is jogging right past her apartment, and the very sight of it breaks Lena’s brain. The blonde athlete’s sculpted arms piston back and forth, ponytail flaring out behind her like a victory flag, as she flies past completely unencumbered by the eight dogs she has attached to her waist.

For the next week, Lena has her morning coffee out on her balcony after Kara picks Lucy up, answering emails until she hears the tell-tale jingling of multiple dog tags from below, at which point she peers over the railing and basks in all six seconds of Kara’s glorious athletic form. (By the third day, she extends her ogling time to a full eleven seconds with the helpful addition of a pair of military grade binoculars).

Is Lena perving on her dog sitter?

Maybe, just a little.

Is she going to stop?

Not if she can help it. (She can’t.)

Lena doesn’t allow herself many indulgences. Most facets of her life are tightly controlled: her work, her schedule, her diet, her relationships. She figures...she can allow herself this one thing.

It is on a particularly hot day that Lena decides to be a bit daring. Just before Kara is due to run past, Lena is waiting outside her apartment building. The sun beats down from above and the heat is radiated back off the sidewalk. Lena thinks wistfully of her air-conditioned office that she’s heading to. The cold water bottle is sweating condensation in her hand, but she is determined to hold onto the resolve she managed to work up after handing Lucy off of Kara this morning.

It’s 7:43 and, just like Lena is counting on, the jangling of leads and dog collars signals Kara’s approach. Lena angles her head to look down the street, and that’s when her eyes nearly fall out of her head.

The shirt Kara had been wearing earlier—the one with two cuddling avocados on it (avocuddling, Lena belatedly understands the joke)—is gone, instead tucked into the harness around Kara’s waist. Which means Kara is in a sports bra, and all Lena can see are abs of steel and shoulders that could carry the world as she runs towards her, seemingly in slow motion. She is a statue in motion, and the earth shifts between Lena’s feet with every step Kara and her eight dogs take towards her.

Lena entirely forgets why she is standing out front waiting for this exact moment, and Kara surely would have run right past her if Lucy hadn’t halted the entire procession to find out what Lena is doing there.

“Whoa, Lucy! It’s not home time yet!” Kara yelps in surprise as she becomes tangled up in dogs. Kara spins around a few times, stepping over the pekingese’s leash and ducking under a golden retriever.

“Good girl,” Lena murmurs, patting Lucy’s head.

“Oh! Hey, Lena! I thought you’d be at work already,” Kara says when she is finally free and spots Lena.

“I’m on my way; just waiting for my driver,” Lena answers casually, smiling from one side of her face.

“Fair enough.”

There’s a brief silence that is filled by the sounds of panting dogs—the pekingese doing more of a wheeze—and Lena quickly remembers herself. “Are you thirsty?” she asks, extending the water bottle out to Kara.

“Gee, thanks!”

Kara accepts it, and takes a few long, grateful gulps from the sports bottle. Lena’s jaw slackens as she watches Kara’s throat bob, tendons in her neck flexing and shifting beneath tanned (and miraculously sweat-free) skin, and then Kara takes the bottle away from her lips and squeezes some water onto her face—and she does that thing again, that thing where she makes time slow down, and Lena watches a stream of water carve a sinful path along Kara’s jaw, down her neck, down the taught planes of her abs and finally into the awaiting mouth of the golden retriever.

Kara laughs and squirts some more water directly into the retriever’s mouth. “Phew!” Kara exclaims, taking another swig from the bottle. “It’s hot out today!”

“Y...yeah. Hot,” is all Lena’s brain can come up with at this point in time.

“Still gotta get our run in though, right guys?” Kara addresses the dogs.

Lena responds with an air of wisdom: “a healthy body is the key to a healthy mind, is what I always say.”

It isn’t. Lena never says that. Lex, however, used to say it all the time, doing pushups from the middle of his study, making Lena roll her eyes and turn the music on her headphones right up.

Kara, meanwhile, reacts with a wide grin. “I couldn’t agree more,” she says. “Hey! I’m planning to hike Mt Diablo on the Saturday with Willow. You and Lucy should come.”

Lena barely hears whatever Kara just said, because her treacherous eyes have affixed themselves rather obviously to Kara’s stomach and she really can’t think about anything else right now.

“Abs…” she breathes, then barely saves herself— “absolutely!”

“Great!” Kara says, quite oblivious. “Meet you there at...seven?”

Lena blinks herself back into focus, shaking her head and forcing her eyes to snap up to meet Kara’s eager blues. “Um...sure! Sounds perfect,” Lena says, without really knowing what she has just agreed to.

**

Lena taps her pen on the desk in agitation, her frown deepening before she presses the button that promptly results in Jess poking her head into her office.

“Yes, Miss Luthor?”

Lena continues to tap her pen on the desk—a controlled, precise rhythm, but a nervous tick nonetheless—then indicates for Jess to take a seat. Jess does so, shifting a little uncertainly as she no doubt tries to glean the meaning behind her boss’ furrowed brow.

“What can I help you with?” Jess asks, gently prompting.

Lena sighs and shakes her head, dispelling the image of sports-bra clad and dog-adorned Kara that has been plastered across her brain all morning.

“Jess,” she says. “What can you tell me about Mt Diablo?”

Jess’ eyes widen a little, thrown a little by the question, though her lips quickly quirk up into a small smile. “I didn’t realise you were such a fitness enthusiast, Miss Luthor.”

“I’m not.”

“Oh.”

“It appears I’ve found myself with plans to ‘hike’ this thing on the weekend. I’d like to know what I’m in for.”

Jess whips her tablet out and taps on it as she speaks. “Well, it’s a half hour drive from the city centre. It’s one of the most instagrammed spots in National City—well, aside from that cafe on sixth that serves lattes in avocados—anyway, all the fitness bloggers are crazy for it.”

Jess flips her tablet around and Lena is looking at an instagram feed full of athletic girls with their backs to the camera, looking out from a mountaintop with sweeping views of National City. Some of them are striking a pose, some of them stand stoically at the precipice, and a few of them even have their tops off with the caption reading #freethenipple.

“It’s not exactly a beginner hike. The fitness bloggers call it the Diablo Destroyer...” Jess continues delicately, hoping she doesn’t offend her boss.

Lena waves it off with a stubborn scoff and wave of her hand. “Hiking is pretty much walking, just a little more vertical, right? I’m sure I can handle it,” she says confidently, though she isn’t entirely sure herself.

“Of course, Miss Luthor.”

“Very well, then. That will be all.”

Jess nods dutifully and heads back out, though she hesitates at the door. “If I may ask, Miss Luthor, what do you plan on wearing?”

Lena stills the pen, thinking back to her closet at home filled with couture dresses and designer workwear—certainly nothing suitable to summit a mountain.

“Good thinking. Jess, put in an order for me for some, ah...sports clothes.”

“Consider it done. I’ll have some options for you at your apartment by the end of the day.”

Lena sinks back into her chair, relieved that that particular fire is out before it could even begin. “Thank you, Jess. You really are the best.” Jess visibly blooms under the praise, ducking her head in an attempt to keep her broad smile from notice. It doesn’t really work. “Oh, and Jess?” Lena calls out before Jess disappears from her office. “Keep it classy. No animal prints, please. Or cheesey slogans.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Miss Luthor.”

***

Jess chooses well, and come Saturday morning, Lena is at the base of Mt Diablo in a pair of skin-tight dark leggings and a long-sleeved white top that is made of some special sports fabric that allows it to be breathable as well as defensive against the sun’s evil rays. She completes the look with a wide-brim hat and an overlarge pair of sunglasses, and she has applied sunscreen to her face and neck three times this morning. Lena is not an outdoors person by any stretch of the imagination, but at least she’ll survive the sun.

Lucy sits patiently at her feet, looking ready for action in the new bright red harness Jess bought for her. Lena had laughed at the way Lucy preened and almost seemed to strut when she’d put the new harness on her.

She’d taken a picture and sent it to Jess, which the assistant had responded with a thumbs up emoji. Lena wondered if she was turning into one of those dog owners who forces pictures of their fur babies onto everyone they meet. Already, her camera roll is filling up with pictures of Lucy around their apartment.

They’re not waiting for long when Kara’s blonde head pops up from a small slope towards the entrance to the trail, grinning wide and waving an arm over her head.

“Morning, team!” Kara chirps as she joggs up to them, backpack on and Willow waddling behind. “Ready for our hike?”

“As we’ll ever be,” Lena replies, smiling wanly. Her stomach is churning already and she’s wondering why on earth she agreed to do this. She can think of a thousand other things she’d rather be doing with her Saturday morning, and tea with Lillian would be one of them. (She really doesn’t want to do this).

“Oh! You’ve got some…” Kara trails off and instead edges forward with an outstretched hand, and all Lena can do is freeze and try not to pass out as Kara rubs a missed speck of sunscreen in on her cheek.

“Th-thanks,” Lena manages when Kara retracts her thumb. Suddenly, she remembers how she ended up agreeing to this wretched activity.

“No problem!” Kara says happily. “Okay, let’s get this show on the road, shall we? Normally I run to the top, but we’ll take it a little slower today for Miss stubby legs.”

Lena is taken aback for a split second before realising that Willow is Miss stubby legs, and not her.

“Oh, taking it slow won’t be a problem at all,” Lena insists.

“Great!”

Lena is panting within five minutes, and completely out of breath within fifteen. Every step is agony: her legs feel like they’re jelly and on fire all at the same time, which Lena knows is scientifically inaccurate, but it feels that way all the same. She can’t believe people do this for fun.

Kara and Willow are a few steps ahead, and Kara glances back at her every now and then with an encouraging smile or an anecdote or pointing out something interesting on the trail. Lena can only give a strained smile or laugh in response before she’s right back to concentrating on not going into cardiac arrest.

It’s not fair. Kara isn’t even breaking a sweat. How is she not breaking a sweat?

At least Lucy is helping in Lena’s struggle, whether she means to or not. Lucy pulls the leash taught in Lena’s grip as she wants to keep pace with Kara, and ends up pretty much hauling Lena up behind her.

They take a quick break under some trees (“for Willow,” Kara says, though Lena suspects the break is really for her, not that she’s in any position to complain). During the break, Lena takes a moment to catch her breath and collect herself.

She has clearly made a grave miscalculation vis a vis the demands of this task, that much is clear. But there’s something about Kara that makes her want to conquer this—and it’s not just the way Kara’s legs look in booty shorts. Though that definitely helps. There’s something about the bright smile Kara tosses back at her over the shoulder, the friendly encouragement that makes it hard for Lena to even consider giving up.

Lucy, too, butts her head against Lena’s leg, looking up at her with bright, hopeful eyes and a wagging tail. Lucy is clearly loving the walk, and that is more than enough for Lena to wield her Luthor stubbornness to cement her resolve.

She’s going to climb this mountain if it kills her (which it very well might).

Lena gulps down some water and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand (Lillian would have a fit at such an unbecoming display), then grips firmly onto Lucy’s leash, chin tilted towards the sky.

“Break’s over; let’s keep going,” she says firmly, with all the command she has in the boardroom.

Kara snaps to attention and nods eagerly, packing the water bottles back into her bag. “Yes, Ma’am! Lead the way,” she grins.

Lena strides away, assertive and confident—at least for the first stretch of incline, after which point, her legs are on fire again. But she doesn’t let it stop her; she remains poker-faced, her brow furrowed against the pain as she takes the mountain one agonising step at a time.

Kara walks behind her this time, and it must be a very slow pace for her, but Lena appreciates that she doesn’t feel like she’s chasing Kara the whole way up the mountain. Something interesting does happen with their change of leadership, however. At one point, Lena glances behind her to say something, and she definitely catches Kara staring at her ass.

Lena stays quiet for a few steps, and Kara’s eyes do not stray. Silently, Lena thanks Jess for the extremely flattering pair of tights she picked out.

“Enjoying the view?” Lena finally asks, quirking an eyebrow, unable to resist.

Kara’s eyes snap up and away, the tips of her ears turning pink. “Huh? What? No, I don’t see anything, I’m just looking at the ground, what am I looking at?—”

“The view,” Lena repeats, gesturing to the expanse of trees and distant buildings sprawling out to their right.

“Oh! Right. Right. Yeah, um...fantastic,” Kara manages, scratching at the back of her neck.

Lena preens at the fact she managed to fluster Kara. Self-confidence bubbles up in her, encouraging her to pick up the pace a bit. After nearly half an hour of gruelling climbing, the trees thin and they are standing on a rock face that looks out over the valley that cradles National City, shimmering in the distance like a jewel.

“Oh thank God,” Lena gasps, flopping down onto a log with trembling legs.

Kara sets up some pop-up water bowls she packed for the dogs, filling them with water from their bottles. Lucy and Willow lap the water up with unbridled enthusiasm, creating a large, dark-grey patch of rock as they splash water everywhere.

Kara sits on the log next to Lena, rummaging around in her backpack, and grins when she pulls out a lunchbox. “Snack time,” she announces, handing Lena a sandwich.

Lena’s stomach growls and she realises that she’s absolutely starving, and she bites eagerly into the sandwich. There are a few other hikers around, some with their dogs, some taking pictures at the edge of the cliff, and others just enjoying the view. Lena inhales the fresh mountain air into her lungs and for a second she supposes she understands why the outdoors appeals to some people.

Sitting next to Kara, legs barely brushing, munching down on a turkey sandwich while looking at one of the most gorgeous views she’s ever seen...Lena feels lighter and more carefree than she has since before she lost Lex. A weight eases off of her chest, and the next breath she takes is deeper and easier than the last.

“Thank you, Kara, for bringing me here,” Lena says.

A warm smile lights up Kara’s face. Her sandwich has already disappeared down her throat, and she is sipping on a juice box as she watches the dogs sniff around the trees and rocks. “I hoped you’d like it. Sometimes you just have to climb a mountain to take your mind off things, you know?”

Lena looks Kara over, wondering what things she might need to get off her mind. There’s a quiet thoughtfulness behind Kara’s eyes, and something just out of reach that Lena aches to discover.

Still, she hums in agreement because Kara is right about that: between concentrating on not dying on the side of the mountain and keeping up with Lucy, Lena hasn’t thought about Lex, cursing her name from behind bars, or her mother, whose shrewd disapproval she can usually felt from across the country, or even about L-Corp, which thrusts new problems onto Lena’s plate on an hourly basis.

“Yeah,” Lena says with a small smile, “this is...really nice.”

Kara beams and whistles Willow and Lucy back over to reattach their leads. “I know, right? And we’re not even at the top yet!”

Lena chokes on on her sandwich and looks at Kara with wide, panic-filled eyes. “You’re kidding.”

Kara simply chuckles in response as she stuffs the lunchbox back into her bag. “Nope! I promise, the view at the top is worth it.”

Lena highly doubts that.

Somehow they end up back on the trail, and Lena struggles behind an enthusiastic and miraculously still energised Lucy. Every step is agony, until Lena finally reaches her limit and collapses against a boulder, her legs shaking beneath her. Kara stops and tilts her head to the side in question.

“You alright, Lena?” she asks.

“Kara, I can’t do this,” Lena pants, her words coming out between laboured breaths. Willow takes the opportunity to flop onto her belly, looking equally spent. “You just take Lucy and go ahead without me; I can wait here with Willow and we’ll be here when you’re coming back down.”

“It’s just a little further, Lena! I believe in you!” Kara says, so earnest and so certain that Lena wants to prove her right, but she feels like her next step may very well be her last.

“I don’t think you understand; I physically can’t take another step,” Lena says helplessly.

Kara presses her lips together, thinking for a moment before she seems to make a decision. She slips her backpack around to her front and crouches down in front of Lena. “Get on,” she says.

Lena blinks stupidly at Kara’s back, presented as an invitation. “W...what? Don’t be ridiculous, Kara.”

“I’m not kidding. Get on.”

“I’ll crush you!”

“Trust me. You won’t.”

It seems Kara isn’t taking no for an answer. Swallowing her pride, Lena shimmies off the rock and lowers herself onto Kara’s back, wrapping her legs around her waist and her arms around her shoulders. Kara stands easily, hands hooking under Lena’s knees after she slips one leash around each wrist.

Kara walks like Lena weighs nothing. If anything, she walks faster than they were before. Lucy seems happy with the change of pace, trotting easily alongside Kara, and flashing the occasional tongue-lolling-out look up at Lena, who buries her face into Kara’s shoulder when people passing them on their way down look at her with clear amusement.

“If my mother could see me now…” Lena mutters, mortified.

“She’d have to catch us first,” Kara says gleefully. She puts on a burst of speed and starts running up the the trail. Lena squeals in surprise and has to cling on with her legs and arms, both baffled and amazed by Kara’s sheer athleticism. By the time they reach the top of the trail, Lena is laughing unreservedly, and she can’t remember the last time she had this much fun.

Kara angles her chin over her shoulder and flashes her a grin. “We made it.” Lena stays on her back as Kara paces to the edge of the cliff and breathes in the sweeping view. “Told you it would be worth it,” Kara says happily.

Lena can feel her own heart beating as she’s pressed against Kara’s back, and wonders if Kara can feel it too. Surely she must, that’s a bit of an embarrassing thought. Lena drops her chin so they’re cheek to cheek, and can feel Kara’s smile against her own.

Kara stops another hiker and asks them to take a picture. “Get my phone,” she instructs, and tells Lena it’s in the front zipper of her backpack. After some awkward rummaging, Lena fishes Kara’s phone out and hands it off to the stranger.

“Smile, Lena,” Kara says.

Lena does, and for once it’s the easiest thing in the world.

The stranger hands Kara’s phone back to her, and Kara squeals. “This is great!” she declares, holding it up so Lena can see. It really is a great picture. Kara is somehow flashing two thumbs up despite the grown woman she is carrying on her back, and Lena can barely recognise herself with that toothy grin she’s displaying. Lucy is at their feet, tail mid-wag, and Willow is lying belly-up on the ground.

“Can you send that to me?” Lena asks.

“Of course! And it’s going on my blob,” Kara reports happily.

“Your blob?”

“Yeah, my blob.”

“Isn’t it called a...you know what, nevermind.”

When they decide it’s time to head down, Lena insists she can walk on her own. “I think I’ve got it now,” she says.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” Lena slips off of Kara’s back, despite how much she liked it up there. “Pity you can’t fly us down,” she laments, thinking of how far the descent is.

Kara laughs, far too loudly for a joke that really wasn’t meant to be that funny, her eyes shifting suddenly. “Ha! Yeah. Darn. Real shame.”

The descent is, thankfully, much easier than the climb, and within an hour they are back at the carpark. The sun is well and truly up, glistening off of the cars in the lot.

“Where did you park?” Lena asks

“Oh, we flew here,” Kara replies casually, then her eyes snap wide and she hastily adds, “—on a bus, I mean! We took the bus, it’s just really fast, might as well have been flying! Public transport, am I right?”

“Right…” Lena says with a perplexed upturn to her lips. “Well, you and Willow can hitch a ride back with us.” Kara looks like she’s about to protest, but Lena shoots her a look that says she won’t take no for an answer, so she ultimately agrees.

Kara slides into the passenger seat with Willow on her lap while Lucy jumps into the backseat, instantly covering it with dirt and leaves. Her nose pops over Lena’s shoulder in the driver’s seat, panting hot breath onto her ear.

Lena wrinkles her nose, looking at the mess in the back. “You need a bath, Luce.”

Lucy, as it turns out, loves baths.

Lena discovers this the hard way, in her once pristine and sleek bathroom, which is quickly covered in soapy dog water when Lucy dives right into the spa-bathtub.

Kara laughs from where she stands with water up to her knees in the huge bathtub: the bathtub Lena once thought would be reserved for self-care Sunday nights—just her, a glass of red wine, a thousand bubbles, and a good book. But...somehow, this seems like a better use for it.

“You love this, don’t you Lucy goose!” Kara says, delightedly scooping water from the faucet onto Lucy’s back. Lucy leaps in a circle in response, splashing with her paws as she comes down and sending water all over Lena where she kneels at the edge of the bath.

Willow glares filthily at them from the doorway, refusing to come closer lest she get wet, but still not enjoying the fact that Lucy is the centre of attention. She’s a bit of a princess like that.

By the time Lucy is clean, Kara is drenched from head to toe.

“Kara, look at the state of you,” Lena laughs, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Look at the state of you!” Kara returns, gesturing at Lena who is also completely soaked.

Lucy shakes herself off from the middle of the bathroom, showering them both a final time before trotting out into the living room.

“She’s going to wet everything,” Lena groans. She pulls two bathrobes from a closet and chucks one in Kara’s direction before bundling herself up and chasing after Lucy with a towel.

“You have two monogrammed bathrobes?” Kara asks, following after Lena as she jams an arm into a fluffy sleeve.

“Yes?” Lena wonders if that’s something she should be self-conscious about. Do regular people not own two monogrammed bathrobes?

“You are amazing,” Kara just laughs, and the sound makes it hard for Lena to worry so much.

Lena catches up to Lucy and throws the towel over her, then Kara scoops her up easily and marches her back to the bathroom, where they team up and towel dry her until she is a puffy ball of fur.

They spend the afternoon drying out on Lena’s balcony, drinking lemonade and eating the fruit and snacks leftover from Kara’s backpack. By the time they are dry, the warmth in the centre of Lena’s chest has bloomed and unfurled itself, spreading to the tips of her fingers and toes. Kara has that effect on her, it seems.

Eventually, Kara has to head off to drop Willow back to her owner.

“See you Monday, gorgeous. And you too, Lucy-goose.” With an incredibly cheesy wink that makes Lena roll her eyes to distract herself from the blush that’s taking over her face, Kara disappears from the apartment, leaving Lena grinning giddily to herself in the doorway.

She looks down at Lucy and pats her head. “You’re a great wingwoman, Luce. Good girl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait on this one! Life got busy and I wrote myself into a corner in one of the future chapters so had to do a bit of rewriting. Anyway, hope you enjoyed Mt Gay.
> 
> Thanks for you comments and kudos etc, they sure make this chump's day <3
> 
> (Ps- there’s a bit of an Easter egg RE: Willow’s identity. There are a couple clues here and there, I wonder if anyone will guess who she might be ;) )


	4. the most supportive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara is there for Lena during a hard time

Lena isn’t surprised that Lex tries to kill her, but that doesn’t mean it hurts any less.

The bullet shatters her backseat window and buries itself neatly into the leather interior of the far door. Pieces of broken safety glass rain down over Lena’s back, who straightens up in bewilderment after having dropped her phone on the floor of the car, with timing that can only be described as divine coincidence.

The shooter disappears into the wind, but Lena knows it was her brother’s proverbial finger on the trigger. Police statements are taken, Lena ducks her head from paparazzi and press on her way into L-Corp, and tries to steady her hand as she pours a glass of water in her office.

After the world’s most polite and professional argument with Jess, Lena reluctantly agrees to take the rest of the day off. She probably won’t get much work done anyway, what with her mind constantly wandering to cell block X, imagining the brother who once loved her, plotting to destroy her.

Jess insists on driving her back home herself, which she doesn’t have to do, but Lena appreciates it anyway. She makes a mental note to give her assistant a raise.

Lena’s apartment is quiet and feels far too empty when she walks in, the sound of her keys dropping into the bowl at the entrance echoing off the walls. She takes a few uncertain steps into the apartment, like it doesn’t even belong to her. Her eyes gravitate to the dog bed by the window where Lucy can usually be found, but of course she isn’t there—she’s with Kara.

All at once, the knowledge and the accompanying weight of being alone presses on Lena’s chest from all sides, and she thrusts a hand onto the counter to stabilise herself. She presses her eyes closed, concentrates on taking a few even breaths before she steadies her voice and pulls out her phone.

Kara answers on the third ring, with enough energy and warmth in her voice that Lena feels herself calm from the moment she hears it.

_“Lena, hey!”_

Lena presses her fingers into her opposite bicep, aiming for lightness in her tone. “Hi, Kara. Sorry to bother you, I just—wait, where are you right now? It sounds like you’re in a windtunnel.”

 _“Oh, um—one sec!”_ The roaring sound on the other end stops suddenly, and it is quiet save for the sound of a few dog noises, including Lucy’s familiar bark that draws a small smile from Lena.  _“Sorry, it’s uh, windy out, but we’re inside now. So, what’s up?”_

“Well, I um...took a half day and was wondering if you could bring Lucy back early today?”

 _“Oh! Yeah, sure, no problem. Is everything alright? Are you sick?”_ There’s a pause before Kara asks, _“Did something happen?”_

Lena sighs, closing her eyes as she tilts her head up to the ceiling. She considers lying, saying everything is fine, but...when it comes to Kara, she finds it takes more energy to bury her feelings than just be honest. Which is different, for her.

“What gave it away?” Lena asks with a humorless laugh.

_“I can hear it in your voice. That, and you never take a half day. Do you...want to talk about it?”_

“No, not really. Not right now. Can you just bring Lucy home? Please?”

_“Of course. I’ll be right there.”_

As it turns out, when Kara says she’ll be right there, she really means it. Lena is just finishing off the ‘my brother tried to murder me’ whiskey she feels she has more than earned when there’s a knock at the door. Lena drains her glass, letting the buzz of it muddle the fact that it’s barely past noon as she goes to answer it.

She sees Kara through the peephole, flanked, as usual, by several dogs. Lena opens the door and the first thing she does is crouch to her knees and wrap her arms around Lucy’s neck, burying her face into her fur, murmuring a few hellos and affirmations as she does so.

Lucy was always good at picking up on human emotions. Lena wouldn’t be surprised if Lucy knew Lex was mad before anyone else did. But she is also fiercely loyal, perhaps to a fault, and stayed by Lex’s side until the very end. Slowly, but surely, Lena feels like Lucy’s loyalty is transferring to her, their bond growing stronger every day.

Lucy rocks her weight into Lena’s shoulder and stays there, patiently, until Lena stands up again. Lena smoothes down her blouse and rakes a hand through her hair before flicking Kara a brief smile.

“Thanks for bringing her home. I hope I didn’t interrupt your day,” she says, eying the three other dogs Kara has tethered to her.

“No problem at all,” Kara says. She hovers somewhat hesitantly in the doorway, like she’s not sure if she should stay or go. Lena finds she doesn’t want her to go.

“Do you want to come in?” Lena asks, and Kara nods eagerly.

“Are these guys alright too?” Kara asks, indicating the chocolate lab, squat pug, and cocker spaniel currently in her care.

“I’m sure Lucy won’t mind sharing her domain.”

Lena closes the door behind Kara and the dogs, and Kara unclips them from her waist. They set up some water bowls for the other dogs while Kara makes introductions and chats about what they’d been up to during the morning.

It’s a welcome distraction, Lena finds, to hear about a normal person’s life.

They end up on the couch, Lena curled up in one corner of it with Lucy’s head in her lap, and Kara on the other side, playfully wrestling a rope toy from the lab’s teeth. Lena half-watches, half distracts herself with running her fingers through Lucy’s fur, losing herself in the repetitiveness of the motion. It takes her a while to notice Kara is looking over at her, an odd little smile tugging at her lips.

“What?” Lena asks.

“Nothing. It’s just. I never expected you’d own...those.”

Lena looks down at her bright red, star-emblazoned sweatpants she’d changed into and curls her legs closer to her with a short huff. “They’re comfortable.”

Kara chuckles and raises her palms in mock surrender, relinquishing the rope toy to the lab, who growls and thrashes it around on the floor. She sighs and sits back, stretching her arm out to lay it across the back of the couch before lolling her head over to look at Lena. “Do you want to talk about what happened, or keep watching me play with Rosco? I’m happy either way.”

Lena breathes a humorless laugh, wondering how exactly one goes about talking about their murderous brother without sounding like a complete trainwreck of a person.

“Lex tried to kill me today,” is what Lena ultimately goes with. Straightforward, to the point. No point dressing it up; it’s what happened. She doesn’t look at Kara, but she knows her eyes must be wide as saucers.

“Lena...are you serious? Are you hurt?”

Lena feels the couch dip as Kara shifts closer, and now only Lucy’s form is between them. “I’m fine. The shooter missed; Lex needs to hire better goons, evidently,” she says, waving her off with a hand.

“How are you so calm about this?” Kara asks.

Lena pauses to think for a moment, fingers tracking back and forth through Lucy’s fur. “My brother hates me,” she eventually says. “I testified against him, and now I’m defiling his precious legacy by trying to do something good with his company. He’s powerful, even behind bars. I’d be naive not to expect something like this would happen, or that it won’t happen again. I’m not a naive person.” Lena’s voice is cool, like still water, and perfectly masks the sick feeling bubbling just beneath the surface of her.

Kara goes quiet, her hands curled into fists on the tops of her thighs. When she speaks, it’s just above a whisper. “I wish I’d been there. I could have done something.”

Lena laughs a bit, as she is reminded just how good and strange a person Kara Danvers is. A touch naive, optimistic to a fault, perhaps, but completely and wholly...good.

“Like what?” she asks, then shakes her head. “You’re only human, Kara.”

Kara’s jaw tightens and she looks away. “Right.”

Lena nips at her lip to steel herself before reaching across Lucy and covering one of Kara’s hands with her own. Kara’s fist unclenches gradually beneath Lena’s palm, and she finally looks up to meet her eyes. There’s this burden in them, a heavy responsibility that Lena doesn’t know the source of—this is her weight to bear, but it looks like Kara wants to take it on anyway. It’s...a lot. Lena isn’t quite sure what to do with it.

“It’s fine, really,” Lena says evenly. “No one got hurt. I just want to forget about this whole thing, and since my assistant evicted me from my own office, work is off the table. So...I just want to have an afternoon with my dog and with my…”

“Dog sitter?” Kara supplies, brows ticking upwards.

“With my friend,” Lena decides, emphasizing it with a nod. “I know that, technically, I’m your boss, but...I do think of you as a friend. You’re kind of my only friend in National City,” Lena admits with a self-deprecating laugh.

Kara, however, smiles, warmth seeping back into her expression. “I see you as a friend, too...Miss Luthor.” She grins, and Lena rolls her eyes, giving her friend (her friend!) an admonishing smack. “Kidding, kidding,” Kara laughs, holding her palms up in mock surrender. “So...what does Lena Luthor do on her days off?” she asks, eyes wandering around the apartment in search of an answer.

“Honestly? Usually I catch up on work.”

Kara looks truly scandalised by the notion, barely registering the cocker spaniel that bounds up into her lap and butts her hand for attention.

“Lena, that’s shocking. That’s it, today you’re going to relax. You’re already halfway there with those pants, the next step is...food and tv!” Kara declares, with enough vigour to bring an amused chuckle out of Lena.

“Alright, boss,” Lena smirks. “Well, if I’m being forced to relax, I need a drink. You want one?” Lena asks as she heads back into the kitchen.

“Juice, if you’ve got it? I, for one, am still on the job,” Kara responds as she scoops the pug, who had been struggling to climb onto the couch, up into her lap too.

Lena returns with her second whiskey and an apple juice for Kara (which makes for a highly amusing incident later when Kara mistakes Lena’s glass for her own and puckers her entire face). Meanwhile, Lucy has taken up Lena’s original space in the corner of the couch, meaning Lena has to sit next to Kara.

The pug wanders his way into Lena’s lap, and Kara grins as Lena hesitantly pats him, wrinkling her nose a bit at the patch of slobber he leaves on her sweatpants.

“So what movies do you have?” Kara asks.

“Um...I’m not quite sure.” Lena reaches over Kara to grab the remote, and a huge flatscreen reveals itself from a space-age sliding panel in the wall.

Kara stares at Lena with her jaw hinged open. “That, is so cool.”

Lena shrugs and clicks the TV on. “Came with the apartment.”

The first thing they see when the TV comes to life is, of course, Superman. He’s just saved a hospital in Metropolis from a falling construction crane. Because that’s exactly what Lena needs after everything today.

Lena’s fingers clench around the remote, her eyes unblinking as she watches the entire city she left behind cheer his name. Kara goes still beside her, the only sounds besides the news coverage are that of the pug licking himself.

“I hate him,” Lena finds herself saying. She doesn’t mean to, it just slips out.

Kara is quiet for a moment, but when she speaks her voice is steady, free of judgement Lena had been bracing herself for. “You do?”

Lena draws a shaky breath and averts her eyes. “Not like Lex did. Not because he’s an alien, I mean. It’s just...if it weren’t for him, I’d still have my brother. Lex would still love me; I’d be...whole. Or less broken, I don’t know.” Lena sighs, thumbing the rim of her glass. “Or maybe that’s not true, either. Maybe Lex would have lost his mind anyway, even if _he_ wasn’t around. Maybe something is just rotten and evil inside him, maybe it’s what it means to be a Luthor. That’s what everyone says, right?”

“I don’t say that,” Kara replies, without hesitation. It makes something stick in Lena’s throat, especially when Kara looks right at her like that, so open and sincere. “I don’t know what would have happened if Superman never existed—no one does. The one thing I do know is that anyone who’d want to hurt you...can’t be good. Because you, Lena. You are good.”

“How can you know that?” Lena asks, swallowing whiskey and at the stubborn lump in her throat.

“Because you try, Lena. And that’s what matters.”

Lucy sits up beside her and pushes her way into her lap to lick her face, evicting the pug who plops to the ground in the process.

“See?” Kara smiles kindly, letting some of the weight dissipate from the moment. “Lucy agrees with me, and dogs never lie.”

Lena laughs wetly and wipes at barely formed tears in the corner of her eye before telling Lucy to settle down. “She’s biased; I’m the one that feeds her,” she says, giving her head a dismissive shake. “Thank you, Kara. I don’t think anyone has ever believed in me like that. It’s...nice. Really nice.”

There’s a moment that hangs in the air between them, one of gentle understanding and support. Lena lets herself settle in it for a moment, before the sincere way Kara is looking at her becomes almost overwhelming, and she hands Kara the remote. “Find something else for us to watch, please. I’m happy with anything—except, no cartoons.”

Lena makes it two-thirds of the way through Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (“it’s not a cartoon, Lena, it’s _animation_!”) before she starts nodding off. The events of the day, combined with the whiskey she’s been sipping throughout the movie, and the comfort of being nestled between Lucy’s fluffy mass and Kara’s solid warmth is more than enough to tip her off the plane of consciousness.

Her head drops onto Kara’s shoulder, and Kara reacts just in time to ease Lena’s glass from her limp hold and set it down on a side table. It’s comfortable, more comfortable than Lena would care to admit, and she falls asleep to the rhythm of Kara’s even, steady breaths.

When Lena wakes, she’s curled around Lucy with a blanket over her shoulders. Kara is gone, but when she checks her phone there’s a string of messages from her.

_Sorry I had to disappear —had to drop Rosco off and didn’t want to wake you. You’re really cute when you sleep btw._   
_I swear that’s not as creepy as it sounds._   
_I wasn’t watching you or anything._   
_Well. Maybe for like a minute._   
_See you tomorrow for pickup!_

Lena sits up in her apartment, the motion rousing Lucy from her sleep too. Her neck is sore from sleeping on the couch, but she’s smiling in spite of herself at Kara’s messages. After a moment’s deliberation she responds with a single heart emoji, hoping that’s what the kids are doing these days.

***

“Miss Luthor?”

Lena doesn’t look up from her papers as she answers Jess over the intercom. “Yes? I believe I recall saying I was quite busy today and not to disturb me unless it was important?”

“Yes, I remember, Miss Luthor. It’s just—there’s a Kara Danvers here to see you. She’s quite...persistent.”

Lena’s pen stalls on the t she was about to cross. “Well why didn’t you say so? Send her in, right away please.”

“And the dogs?”

“The dogs—? Of course…” A wry smile twitches Lena’s lips as she signs her name a final time and flips the folder closed. “Yes, send the dogs in, too.”

Lena finishes the note she was writing and stuffs the rest of the mountain of files on her desk into a drawer. Her desk is clear by the time Kara, her sunny grin, and her entourage of dogs walk in. She has a white paper bag in one hand and some flowers in the other, which she does a poor job of hiding behind her back.

“Hi,” Kara says, “I hope I’m not interrupting—I’m not interrupting, am I?”

Lena mentally ignores the stack of contracts she’ll probably be taking home with her after work when she smiles and shakes her head. “Not at all, I’m free as a bird. To what do I owe this surprise?”

Kara rocks back and forth on her heels in a comically casual display. “Well...we just happened to be in the neighbourhood and we thought you might be hungry—so we brought lunch!” she declares with confidence and thrusts the paper bag forwards.

Lena eases back into her chair, eyes flicking between the proffered bag and Kara’s hopeful grin. “And the flowers?” she questions.

“Oh, um, these?” Kara chuckles, cheeks turning a little pink as she shifts them properly into view. “We saw them on the way and thought they were pretty and that you might like them.”

“Did _we_ now?” Lena hums, amusement dancing across her face. “Aren’t I so lucky you’re so thoughtful, Luce? You know what? You deserve a treat.”

Lena rummages around in her purse where she has an emergency box of treats, and crouches in front of Lucy to give one to her.

“I mean, I did buy them,” Kara mumbles under her breath, scuffing her feet.

Lena smirks up at her with a lifted brow. “Would you like a treat, too?”

“Wha—no!” Kara squeaks, cheeks flushing with indignance.

Lena chuckles and plucks the flowers from Kara’s hands. There’s a water carafe by the window, which she fashions into a vase. She steps back and appraises them with a pleased nod. They’re lovely—an arrangement of yellow and white daisies tied together with a gold ribbon. They brighten up the office, just like Kara did as soon as she walked in.

“I do have something for you, actually,” Lena says, reaching into her top drawer as she eases herself back into her chair. She pulls out a sleek embossed card, and hands it to Kara over her desk.

Kara tilts her head curiously as she reads the card. “Puppy picnic?”

“Yes. Cute, isn’t it?” Lena says with a quick clear of her throat before she proceeds. “L-Corp is hosting a fundraiser for National City’s Animal Welfare Society. I’ll be honest with you, it’s a bit of a grab for good publicity—it’s harder to hate a corporation that’s literally saving kittens, though I’m sure the public will find a way anyway,” Lena’s brow gives a wry twitch before she shakes her head of it. “Anyway, I thought maybe...I’d really like it if you came. It could be a great opportunity for your business: a lot of important animal lovers will be there; you could make some great contacts. Plus, there’ll be puppies,” she adds, and allows the hope she feels to seep into her voice.

“Say no more; I’m there!” Kara says, grinning as she holds onto the invitation.

Lena relaxes in her chair, realising now she’d actually been nervous Kara wouldn’t agree to come. “Excellent,” she says happily. “Your invite is valid for yourself and a plus one. Bring whoever you like: boyfriend, girlfriend…whoever.” Lena tries to be as casual as possible, even going so far as to make a show of inspecting her nails, trying not to reveal how intently she’s waiting for Kara’s response.

When she glances up at Kara out of the corner of her eye, she is met only with a sweet little smile, like Kara knows exactly what she’s doing but is much too kind to exploit the moment of vulnerability.

“I’ll bring my sister, if that’s alright,” Kara says with a meaningful look in her eyes, a look that says yes, I’m single, and Lena’s body reacts to in it in ways she hopes don’t play out across her face.

“Perfect. I look forward to seeing you both,” Lena says, and hides a laugh behind her hand when Kara nearly gets tangled up in dogs as she walks backwards as she waves herself out of the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slightly longer than usual gap between chapters! Got a bit stuck but I chatted with some buddies and worked through it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)   
> Until next  
> xxx


	5. Puppy Picnic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena meets an old friend, tries to make a new one, and Kara just wants to play with dogs

As far as corporate functions go—and Lena has attended many—this one is...not bad. In fact, it’s quite nice. The sunshine and fresh air, sprawling lawn, and sparkling rose are a nice change of pace from the formal venues and night time settings of her usual events, as is the casual dark slacks and light blouse ensemble Lena wears instead of some tight, form-fitting cocktail dress (not that she doesn’t enjoy an asset-enhancing dress on occasion, but it is nice to let the girls breathe).

At the centre of the event is a large marquee National City’s animal shelter has set up to house some animals that are up for adoption. Lena spends the better part of an hour rubbing elbows with the usual suspects and posing for pictures with puppies and kittens, until the PR team is satisfied that the Luthor heiress looks sufficiently unlike the moustache twirling villain the general public thinks her to be. 

Once she is freed from the constant needling of her team, Lena wanders back over to the adoption tent, which is of course where she finds Kara. Naturally, Kara is circled by an extremely slobbery carousel of dogs of all shapes and sizes. She’s laughing, and Lena hears her chatting away with them in that strange yet beautiful language she uses with the dogs she cares for. 

 

Kara’s hair is free of its usual ponytail, tumbling loose over her shoulders. Her uniform of jeans and a T-shirt has been swapped for a pink button-up and a light grey blazer with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows. Kara doesn’t even seem to notice that her cream coloured slacks are getting grass stains all over them them as she is swarmed by the cutest puppies Lena has ever seen—it’s honestly too much adorable for one room, and it's all Lena can do to stop herself from letting out a lovesick Disney princess-esque sigh.

Kara is angling her head away from a labrador puppy’s tongue when she sees Lena, who wiggles her fingers hello from where she leans on the railing of the puppy pen. “Hey Lena!” Kara calls out as she thrusts a wave into the air. “Whoa!” she exclaims as the puppy becomes more exuberant in his attempts to lick her face and succeeds in flopping Kara onto her back. 

Lena can’t help but laugh as she watches Kara squeal in delight as more puppies pile onto her, looking like a scene straight out of a toilet paper commercial. 

“She yours?” a woman appears by her side and rests her elbows on the railing. 

“Yeah,” Lena replies with a fond smile on her lips. However, she quickly catches herself and gives her head a rigorous shake. “I mean—no! I mean, she’s just my, um, my friend.” 

The woman beside her chuckles, and it's familiar, somehow, in a way Lena can’t quite place. 

“Well look at you, Lena, making friends. Looks like lightning does strike twice,” the woman says.

Lena finally draws her eyes away from the puppy-embellished Kara to the woman beside her. She’s tall, slender, with olive skin and a teasing twist to her lips as the recognition visibly washes over Lena’s face. 

“Sam!” Lena exclaims, and her eyes go wide as she is pulled into a hug. 

She hasn’t seen Sam since they were fresh out of college interns together at Luthor Corp. (“Just because you’re a Luthor, doesn’t mean you get a ride straight to the top! You’ve got to do the grunt work first, like the rest of us. Now get me my coffee, you know how I like it,” Lex had said, flashing Lena a grin as she rolled her eyes.) They’d bonded during their internship, after which Sam secured a position in accounts and Lena moved into the R&D division, which she was all set to head up within a few years, and then...well, then Lex happened. 

Lena feels a twinge of regret as Sam applies a quick squeeze to the hug, remembering how they said they’d keep in touch but never did. Recently, however, she’d received a transfer application from Metropolis, and signed immediately when she saw her old friend’s name.

“I’ve never approved transfer papers quicker than when your name came across my desk,” Lena says into Sam’s shoulder before she eases back and takes a good look at her friend. “I thought you weren’t supposed to start until next month!”

“I pushed the move forward, so Ruby could start school with the rest of her class.” 

At Lena’s confused look, Sam tilts her head towards the puppy pen, where a small girl of about four or five with dark hair and bright eyes is trying to get a floppy-eared dog to sit—without much success. The dog’s tongue lolls lazily out of its mouth as the child repeats the command with a stubborn frown. 

Lena’s eyes dart between Sam and Ruby, and even her genius brain takes a few seconds to connect the dots. “Ruby—she’s your…”

“My daughter,” Sam confirms, smiling proudly. 

“And I’m a terrible friend,” Lena groans miserably. “Has it really been that long since we spoke? Long enough for you to create a small human?”

Sam shrugs, waving her hand dismissively. “A lot has changed since we were interns. I’ve been busy with Rubes, you’ve been busy with…” 

“Trying to keep my brother from becoming a madman, failing spectacularly, and subsequently pulling an entire company back from the brink of ruin?” Lena supplies helpfully. 

Sam grimaces at Lena’s sardonic tone. “Your plate has been full enough these past years,” she says, forgivingly. 

“I want to make up for it, especially now that we’re going to be working together,” Lena says sincerely, emphasising her conviction with a squeeze to Sam’s hand. “Catch me up. Tell me all about Ruby,” she insists. 

Sam’s face lights up as she talks about her daughter, and she tells Lena stories about her as they watch Ruby playing with the dogs in the pen. She’s become particularly enamoured with the dopey dog, and Sam muses that they might come out of this event with a new family member. “I’m more of a cat person, to be totally honest,” she says with a slight wince.

“So who’s the girl you can’t stop looking at?” Sam eventually asks, cutting a wry glance at Lena. 

Lena makes a startled noise, snapping her eyes away from where she was unsubtly staring at Kara. Kara and Ruby had now found each other, and Kara is showing Ruby how to rub the floppy-eared dog’s belly and laughing happily when Ruby giggles at the way he kicks his back leg. 

“That’s Kara. She’s my um...my dog-sitter. You remember Lex’s dog, Lucy? She’s mine now,” Lena says, hoping she can divert the conversation away from the topic of Kara and the apparently not at all subtle crush she has on her, but it doesn’t seem to work. 

“Interesting,” Sam hums, watching Kara and Ruby together. “She’s cute. And good with kids. Is she single?”  

“No!” Lena squeaks much too abruptly, and realises her mistake when she sees Sam smirking at her. “I mean, I um...I don’t know, it’s not really my business.” 

Lena really doesn’t want to hear whatever teasing thing is sure to come out of Sam’s mouth next, but luckily she is saved by a woman with short, auburn hair appearing by her other side. There’s an irritated twist to her lips, and she grips the railing as she stares into the pen at Kara. 

“Kar, you’ve left me alone at this party for twenty minutes!” she hisses. “Your entire life is hanging out with dogs, can’t you leave them alone for one second?” 

“Aw, come on, Al, just five more minutes! They’re so cute!” Kara pouts with a puppy cuddled up to her chin. Alex rolls her eyes and leans heavily against the railing.

Lena angles herself to face the new arrival. “You must be Alex Danvers,” she says with a polite smile. 

The woman locks up like a steel trap, and her fists appear in front of her as she squares off against Lena and Sam. “How do you know that name?” she demands. 

The aggressive fighting stance is somewhat hampered by the lacy floral dress, but Lena has no doubt this woman could kick the ass of anyone in this tent if she so desired.

“I’m Kara’s friend,” Lena says gently, her palms facing up in what she hopes is a placating gesture. “I invited Kara here; she told me she was bringing you. You’re her sister, right?” 

“Were you going to fight us?” Sam asks, popping up over Lena’s shoulder. 

The tips of Alex’s ears turn pink and she sharply straightens the front of her dress. “You can never be too careful at these things,” she grumbles. 

Lena starts at the potential implication of Alex’s words, and she’s shrinking into herself when Sam takes a step towards Alex and crosses her arms over her chest. 

“Why? Because it’s an L-Corp event and there’s surely something nefarious hidden in amongst the puppies and kittens?” Sam drawls, her words burning with a defensiveness Lena doesn’t feel she really deserves, but she is grateful for it anyway. 

Alex blinks at Sam, clearly taken aback. Her mouth goldfishes, opening and closing a few times with no words coming out, until she shakes her head and firms herself up. “No, that’s not what I meant.” She sighs, running a frustrated hand through her hair. “Look, I’m sorry, you just startled me. I’m a detective...sort of. I’m used to having my guard up.” 

Sam waits a beat before she relaxes into her standard casual stance, a hint of an intrigued smirk tugging at her lips. “'Sort of' detective, huh? How mysterious.” 

“What’s going on?” Kara is hunched over so she can hold onto Ruby’s hand, who tugs on it insistently to bring her over to join the three women.

“Nothing,” Lena says, taking in the confused frown on Kara’s face as she flicks her gaze between Alex and Sam. “We were just making introductions, right? Alex, this is Sam Arias, and I’m Lena Luthor.”

“I know who you are; your face is on my napkin,” Alex deadpans, and much to Lena’s horror, holds up a napkin embossed with an awkward smiling picture of her she took for the PR team months ago.

“Oh God,” Lena whispers, ducking her head in extreme mortification. 

“Ahem!” The four women look down at the small child demanding their attention. Ruby pouts up at Kara as she yanks on her hand. “Can we go see the cats now?”

Kara smiles warmly down at Ruby, crouching down so she’s at her level. “I’d love to, kid, but you see, my friend Lena invited me here today, so I’d like to spend some time with her, if that’s alright.” 

Ruby gives Lena a scrutinizing look. “Okay. She’s pretty,” Ruby decides, like it's a perfectly valid reason, and nods in approval as she lets go of Kara’s hand. Kara grins at Lena in apparent agreement with Ruby’s statement, and Lena’s cheeks burn. Ruby next directs her attention to Alex. “Hey, lady!” 

Alex blinks dumbly and checks over her shoulder. “Me?”

“Yeah. Do  _ you  _ like cats?” 

Alex looks uncertainly at Sam, who gives her an amused shrug, clearly interested in seeing how this will play out. Alex firms up her expression to look back down at Ruby. “I love cats.”

Kara is frowning slightly at Alex, like something’s not adding up. “But Alex—” she starts to say, but shuts up abruptly as Alex delivers a swift kick to her shin (Kara reacts with a very delayed 'oh, uh, yeowch!!')

“All right, let’s go see the cats with the nice lady,” Sam says, taking Ruby by the hand. Ruby grasps onto Alex’s hand too and her arms go taut as she drags the pair of them off towards the cats.

“Cute kid you’ve got there,” Lena hears Alex say as they walk away.

“Thanks, detective, I made her myself,” Sam shoots back playfully.

Kara’s brow is still crinkled into a puzzled frown, and Lena nudges her lightly. “What’s with the face?”

“It’s just...Alex is super allergic to cats,” Kara says, and the crinkle deepens.

“Ah,” Lena hums, eyebrows shooting up with interest. She chuckles at Kara’s confused expression and nudges her again, a little more weight behind it this time. “On earth, we call that flirting,” she teases before walking away. 

Kara stares after her for a few steps before jogging a bit to catch up. “W-what do you mean, ‘on earth’? Of course we’re on earth, where else would we be?” 

Lena gives Kara a look as she scoops up a flute of champagne, grimacing inwardly at the gaudy balloons, coasters, and plates with her damn face printed all over them. When the PR team said she was going to be the new face of the company, she didn’t think they meant it this literally…

“It’s just an expression. Honestly, Kara, sometimes it’s like you’re from a completely different planet.” Lena jokes.

Kara barks out a laugh loud and weird enough to earn herself an exasperated ‘what is wrong with you??’ glare from Alex from halfway across the tent. 

“Funny joke, Lena,” Kara says, and Lena is about to question whether it really was that funny, but Kara’s hand is on her shoulder so naturally all coherent thought has escaped prison break style from her brain. “Want to meet my new friends?” Kara asks, and all Lena can do is smile and nod. 

Kara’s hand slides down to the small of Lena’s back as she guides her into the puppy pen. For a few brief seconds Lena’s entire world zeroes in on the single point of contact, and it’s almost a relief when Kara’s hand moves away for her to crouch down amongst the puppies again. 

Lena swallows down the rest of her champagne in one go before joining them on the ground as gracefully as she can manage, glad she opted for pants rather than a skirt today. One of the puppies that isn’t crawling all over Kara approaches her, sniffing curiously at her knees. 

“Oh! Hello there,” Lena says. She freezes up and lets him sniff, thinking any movement might scare him off. 

“You can pat him,” Kara encourages, smiling at her up over the three pups all fighting for her lap. She tickles their bellies and chins, asking them ‘who’s a good doggy’ (the answer: _all of them_ ). 

Tentatively, Lena reaches out a hand and pats the soft, white fur atop the puppy’s head. He doesn’t even seem to notice, apparently far too intent on sniffing as much of Lena as he can, and Lena allows herself to relax.

“He likes you,” Kara decides with a pleased smile.

Lena becomes transfixed by the way his dark little nose roams over her legs, emitting a series of snuffles and snorts like he is on a highly important mission. His mission takes him up her thighs and alarmingly close to her crotch ( _ why do they always go for the crotch?? _ ) and she lets out a little squeak and an awkward laugh. 

Kara comes to her rescue, scooping the puppy up with both hands to hold him in front of her face. “Come on, Nugget, where are your manners?” she asks sternly. ‘Nugget’ responds by licking Kara’s nose, and her stern frown scrunches up into a grin. “Oh, I can’t stay mad at you,” she giggles as she sets him down again.

“Is that his name? Nugget?” Lena asks as the puppy trots back over to her and scrambles into her lap. 

“Oh, I don’t know, it’s just what I’ve been calling him.”

“It suits him,” Lena says, tickling him beneath his chin. “Do you think you’ll get a dog of your own one day?” 

“I want to. Right now I have my hands pretty full taking care of other people’s dogs,” Kara replies, giving Lena a half hearted smile as she pats Nugget with a wistful sigh.

Lena frowns slightly at the crack in Kara’s usually flawlessly sunny disposition. She takes a stab at guessing what might be behind it. “It’s not the same as having your own, is it?”

“Right. Don’t get me wrong, I do love the dogs in my care. They’re like my second family. It’s just…” Kara pauses for a moment, biting at the flesh of her cheek as a crinkle appears beneath her brows, like she's thinking about something more than just dogs. “Do you...do you ever feel like you’re meant to do something more with your life?” she eventually asks. The question hangs over them for a few seconds before Kara laughs dismissively and shakes her head. “I’m definitely asking the wrong person. You’re an accomplished CEO, doing all these amazing things to change the world for good. I don’t think you could do any more with your life without being an actual angel.”

Lena blinks back at Kara, completely dumbstruck. The parts of her pressed into shape by Lillian’s constant criticism in her upbringing, by the yardstick she used to measure herself up against Lex only to fall short every time, by the media’s constant reminder that it’s only a matter of time before she turns out like just another Luthor, scream out in protest against the kind words that fall so effortlessly from Kara’s lips. They make her turn her head away with a self-deprecating laugh. 

“I don’t know what papers you’re reading, Kara. Certainly not the ones calling L-Corp’s water recycling proposal an evil Luthor plot to poison National City’s water supply,” she says wryly. 

Kara sees the deflection for what it is, and denies it with a shake of her head. “The world might not see how good you are yet, but they will. I do. Even with everything you’ve been through, you’re still trying to put some good into the world every day. That’s...really brave.” 

Lena presses her lips together, feeling a sudden lump lodge itself in her throat. "No one's ever believed in me like that," she finds herself whispering. 

Lex had believed in her, at least insofar as he believed in the power and indestructibility the Luthor name afforded a person.  But the way Kara believes in her...it makes her feel like she can do anything, Like she really can make L-corp a force for good, like she really can make a name for herself outside of her family, like she really can just be Lena and that would be enough for someone. Like she can fly. 

Kara smiles openly. "Lena...you're my hero. If I was half as brave as you are, I could...I don't know. Do something that mattered."

Lena studies Kara closely. She’s frowning down at the puppies in her lap, keeping her hands occupied with idly patting them. Lena scoots herself over a little, ducking her head slightly. “What’s this really about?” she asks gently. 

Kara sighs, leaning back on her palms. “I guess I’ve just been a bit frustrated lately,” she eventually admits. “It’s like, I came all this way, and my parents...they gave up everything so that I could be here, and what am I doing with that? Lena, I walk other people’s dogs, and clean up their poop,” she says with a bitter laugh.

Lena feels a stab of guilt at the sadness in Kara’s voice. She doesn’t know exactly what happened to Kara’s parents, but from what she can gather something terrible must have happened before Kara came to America from Kazakhstan, and now Kara feels like she’s not doing enough. Kara must catch Lena’s frown, because she is quick to backtrack.

“I mean, I love what I do and I love the dogs and helping my clients—heck, I would never have met you if I wasn’t doing it! But I just...I  _ know  _ I can do so much more to help people.”

Kara stares at her hands, opening and closing them into fists helplessly, looking for all the world like she bears the weight of an entire planet on her shoulders...

“Kara...you are helping people,” Lena says gently. Kara glances up at her, eyebrows arched in question, prompting Lena to continue. “Lucy is so much happier since you came into our lives. Having her and you has taught me that there are more important things in life than work, and the Luthor legacy.” Lena decides to be brave, and takes Kara’s hand in her own, looking into her eyes with an encouraging smile. “Okay, you might not be changing the world, but you’ve certainly changed  _ my _ world. In a way, you are changing the world...just one dog at a time.” 

Kara smiles at that, and it floods Lena with relief to see the sun peaking through the clouds. Then Kara glances down at their joined hands, and instead of pulling away she laces their fingers together, her hand solid and warm around Lena’s own. 

Then she’s leaning in, drawing closer and closer, but stopping just a breath away for the few heart-stalling moments it takes Lena to realise she’s waiting for her to close the distance, and when she does it’s soft lips that sweet taste of Kara’s chapstick that meet her.

It’s not exactly what Lena imagined kissing Kara would be like—that being said, most of Lena’s fantasies place them atop a dramatic cliff by the ocean, Kara dressed in a half-open white shirt, blonde hair blowing in the wind as she sweeps Lena into her arms and crashes their lips together, sea spray alighting gently on their cheeks as the waves beat against the rocks. No, this isn’t quite as dramatic; it’s simple and vulnerable and soft and perfect, and Lena wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Kara’s free hand cups Lena’s jaw, fingers nestling in the dark hair that falls loose down her back. Lena melts into the touch and suddenly she wants Kara’s hands to be  _ everywhere _ , a desire which manifests itself with a short sigh against Kara’s lips. Kara shifts slightly, perhaps with the intention of deepening the kiss, but Lena will never know because suddenly their faces are assaulted by a white fluff ball launching itself at them, yapping animatedly. 

“Nugget!” Kara gives an admonishing scowl and extricates her fingers from Lena’s hair to keep the excitable puppy at bay. 

While Kara calms him down, Lena does some calming herself, taking some steadying breaths that do nothing to slow the rapid drumming of her heart or the spread of a blush across her cheeks.  

Kara grabs a nearby ball from the grass and tosses it across the pen, sending Nugget and the dogs in Kara’s lap scrambling after it. “Timing, honestly,” Kara mutters under her breath, shaking her head. She turns her eyes back to Lena wearing a small smile with her lip caught between teeth that makes Lena have to fight the urge to kiss her again. “Was...was that okay?” 

“Yeah,” Lena says, surprised to learn she even has a voice, and tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. “I’ve...wanted that to happen for a long time, actually,” she confesses. 

Kara swallows, and unbridled happiness plays out across her face. “Good. That's...that's good. Gosh, I really like you, Lena,” Kara breathes, shifting on the grass to lean in close again.

Lena’s stomach swoops, her entire being prickling with the anticipation of kissing Kara again like that first sip of water actually made her thirstier than she already was, which she really didn’t think was possible but, well, here she is, completely and utterly parched. 

She’s halfway into leaning in to meet Kara again when an annoying albeit important part of her makes her aware of the fact that she’s technically at work, and Helen from PR would have a fit if anyone at the event caught her making with an unknown blonde in the middle of a pen full of puppies. The press would have a field day, and she can’t put Kara through that, not before they can have a chance to really find out whatever it is that’s happening between them.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Lena whispers, eyes closed as she lays a hand on Kara’s arm to keep her from coming all the way in. “It’s just...I’m at work.” 

“Oh. Right. Yeah, there are kids around.” Kara sighs and shifts back, running a hand through her hair. The action does nothing to stifle the pull of attraction that is currently governing Lena’s every impulse.

“Although…” Lena hums thoughtfully, drumming her fingers on the skin of Kara’s forearm. Kara sucks in a breath, which is an encouraging reaction to say the least. “I really shouldn’t leave Lucy alone for this long,” Lena says, knowing full well Lucy is most likely snoozing on her favourite cushion right now, perfectly content. “Come to think of it, she was acting a little strangely this morning. Maybe you could check on her with me. I could use your, ah...professional opinion.” Lena trails her fingers along Kara’s arm, teeth peeking out from her lips as Kara swallows hard.

Kara’s brow creases with exaggerated seriousness and she fixes Lena with a meaningful look. “As your professional dog sitter I say we should go check on Lucy at once. Right away. Immediately.” 

“If that’s your professional opinion,” Lena drawls with a slow smile. 

Kara springs to her feet and extends a hand out to help pull Lena up. “Oh, it absolutely is.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eeeeep
> 
> not gonna lie I wrote the last scene about four times. In one version, Kara tells Lena she's an alien, in another she tells her she's an alien who also happens to be Superman's cousin (yikes), and they all play out pretty differently. Buuuut this version leads to significant makeouts though so I feel like I'm happy with this choice. 
> 
> Thank you for your comments and kudos etc on last chapter, I always find them super encouraging <3
> 
> until next 
> 
> xx


	6. The after party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mostly gratuitous makeouts and flirting tbh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up this chapter gets a wee bit steamy, nothing explicit or anything, just putting a lil disclaimer here

Lena feels like a rebellious teen, sneaking out of her own event with her hand firmly in Kara’s. Or, at least, what she imagines being a rebellious teen would have felt like. 

Lillian Luthor’s ever watchful eye never left much room for rebellion, no matter how much Lex encouraged her to ‘loosen up, for goodness’ sake’. Now, with her blood rushing through her veins, her heart beating like hummingbird in her chest, and her skin practically vibrating at every point of contact with Kara’s, Lena wishes she’d rebelled years ago.

They’ve almost snuck out of the adoption tent when a high-pitched voice calls out Kara’s name. 

The pair freeze in their tracks and whip around guiltily, separating their hands and thrusting them behind their backs as Ruby Arias runs over to them, carrying a fluffy tortoiseshell cat with a face that looks like it’s run headfirst into a brick wall in her arms. 

“Kara! Kara, look!” the girl cries happily as she catches up to them, Alex and Sam in tow behind her. Alex looks like she’s putting a lot of effort into pretending her eyes aren’t bloodshot and watery and her nose isn’t leaking like a broken faucet. 

“Rubes adopted a cat in your absence,” Sam explains. Her eyes linger a little too long on the pair of them, and her raised eyebrow seems to indicate that Lena will be getting a phone call from her perceptive friend later on. 

“Her name’s Butternut!” Ruby declares, and Butternut makes a disgruntled meowing sound as Ruby thrusts her demonstratively up at Kara. 

“Oh! Hello, Butternut. Aren’t you....sweet,” Kara says, giving Butternut a pat which the hideous cat really doesn’t seem to enjoy.

Ruby beams wide enough to expose her missing bottom tooth. “She’s the most beautiful cat ever, isn’t she Alex?” she asks happily.

Alex sniffs and wipes at her nose from the respectable distance she’s put between herself and the cat. “Gorgeous.”

Sam hands her a tissue, looking positively enamoured with the sniffling detective. 

“Were you going somewhere?” Sam asks with an eyebrow raised. 

Lene maintains a calm exterior, which is good because it looks like Kara is one pointed question away from cracking. 

She’s really not the best at keeping secrets, the poor darling. 

“Kara and I are going to check on Lucy. She seemed a bit unwell this morning, so I’m getting her professional opinion,” Lena says smoothly. 

Alex’s face pinches into an accusing frown she directs at Kara. “You’re leaving?” 

“Uh…” is all Kara manages before Sam steps in. 

“Don’t worry, detective. You can hang with Ruby and I,” she says smoothly, giving Lena an all too knowing grin.

“And Butternut!” Ruby exclaims, wheeling around with the cat.

Alex is suddenly seized by a series of violent sneezes. “Great,” she says weakly as she straightens back up with a strained smile while Sam pats her back sympathetically. “I guess I’ll see you later then?” Alex asks, eyes narrowing slightly at the pair of them. 

(If it weren’t for the film of tears clouding Alex’s vision, she might have caught the back of Lena’s hand daring to brush against Kara’s thigh.)

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll fly over tomorrow,” Kara replies distractedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet as her eyes flit between her sister and the exit. She quickly stiffens, eyes snapping wide. “Metaphorically speaking, of course!”

Alex smacks her forehead into her palm. “Just go.”

Kara beams and practically runs out of the tent, Lena calling an “it was lovely to meet you!” over her shoulder as she is dragged along behind her.  So much for subtlety. 

They pile into the back seat of Lena’s car, taking a moment to collapse into giggles before finding each other again as the partition rises. If kissing Kara for the first time was soft and sweet, this is anything but. This is messy, all clashing lips and teeth and eager hands.

It takes a lot of effort on Lena’s part not to start undressing Kara right then and there, but she manages to keep her hands busy in Kara’s hair and by the time they reach her apartment building, Kara is thoroughly mussed. 

Frank the doorman nods politely as he opens the door for them, and smiles broadly at Kara. “Miss Danvers, I almost didn’t recognise you without your usual furry entourage,” he says.

“I gave them the day off today,” Kara replies, giving him a quick wave as she is yanked in after Lena who makes a beeline for the elevators. 

They stand innocuously side by side as the elevator doors slide shut. Kara’s very existence is painful in such a small space. Every breath she takes, every twitch of her fingers, the way she licks her lips, sends a lightning bolt straight through Lena’s entire being.

“Is this the part where we make out in an elevator because we can’t stand to keep our hands off each other?” Kara finally asks. 

Lena scoffs haughtily. “Please, Kara. I do have some semblance of self control,” she says, though she’s positive that isn’t true. 

“Well I don’t.” 

And that’s how Lena finds herself up against the wall of the elevator, sighing into Kara’s mouth as Kara’s hips press flush to her own, hands grasping the railing on either side of her. 

Lena thinks she hears the groan of metal behind her, but before she can question it the elevator dings its arrival and Kara is tugging her out into her hallway. Lena’s biometric hand scanner thankfully opens her apartment faster than a key, and when the door opens behind her, she pulls Kara in by the lapels after her. 

Kara kicks the door shut with a foot (and if the drywall around the doorframe cracks a little up towards the ceiling, Lena certainly doesn’t notice). 

Lena is vaguely aware of nails clicking on hardwood floors, but she’s much too preoccupied with Kara’s hands dragging down her sides to bracket her hips, mouth hot and hungry against her own. Kara detaches her lips to press open-mouthed kisses along her jaw, then the column of her neck, and Lena lets her head fall back against the wall with a gasp. 

Then there’s a dull thud and a limp squeak, and Lena rolls her head to the side to see Lucy sat a few feet away from them, her favourite donut-shaped squeaky toy plonked on the ground as she wags her tail expectantly.

“Not now, Lucy,” Lena grits through her teeth, making a shooing motion that turns into a clenched fist that pounds the wall when she feels Kara’s  _ tongue  _ on her neck. 

There’s another thud and squeak, closer this time, and Kara makes a surprised yelp when Lucy butts her head insistently against the back of her knees, causing them to buckle and make her face drop right into Lena’s chest...which, honestly, isn’t the worst thing that could have happened. Lucy drops the donut on the ground a third time, tongue lolling out and tail wagging animatedly as Kara extricates herself from Lena’s cleavage.

“Alright, alright,” Kara concedes begrudgingly, her cheeks flushed as she bends down and tosses Lucy’s toy down the hallway. Lucy scampers off after it, and the sound of growling and intermittent squeaking fills the apartment. 

Lena sags back against the wall. “Great wingwomaning, Luce,” she mutters. 

Kara chuckles and adjusts her rumpled collar, leaning back against the opposite wall in the narrow entry corridor. Kara’s darkened eyes track up and down Lena’s form—she must look an absolute state: blouse untucked from her pants, hair disheveled, lipstick smeared, cheeks flushed, but Kara is looking at her like she is an absolute snack. It charges the air between them, and it’s all Lena can do to keep it from drowning her with a clearing of her throat. “Tea?” 

Kara blinks back into herself and pushes herself up off the wall. “Love one.” 

Lena leads Kara into the apartment by the fingertips and sits her down on a stool, much like she had the first time she’d been into her apartment, except this time the energy is...significantly different. 

While the kettle boils, Kara gives Lucy some attention, wrestling the donut off of her before tossing it for Lucy to fetch. That isn’t to say she’s not staring at Lena. Lena can feel Kara’s eyes on her the entire time, a fact she exploits by putting more movement into her hips as she retrieves mugs and tea bags, by elongating her spine as she stands up on her toes to grab the sugar, and finally by taking her time bent over by the fridge for the milk. 

That’s when she hears a loud pop followed by a pathetic squeak from right behind her. She spins round, milk carton in hand, to see Kara clutching the exploded remains of Lucy’s donut toy in her hands—a toy Lena has personally witnessed Lucy go to town on without giving it so much as a scratch. 

“Kara…” Lena murmurs incredulously, eyes wide. Honestly, she’s not sure whether she’s more shocked or turned on. 

“Gosh! Cheap imports, am I right?” Kara squeaks as she drops the decimated toy to the floor. Lucy prods it sadly with her nose, looking like her world has just ended. “Sorry, Luce,” Kara grimaces.

“I’ll...get her another one,” Lena says slowly. She stares at the ruined donut in disbelief for a moment longer before shaking her head and returning to the tea. She makes a mental note not to buy from that pet store anymore; the quality mustn’t be as good as she thought it was. 

By the time the tea is brewed and Lena is sliding a mug over to Kara, Lucy seems to have forgotten all about her recent trauma thanks to some enthusiastic belly rubs. Kara sits back on her stool and accepts her mug while Lucy rolls off of her back and stretches lazily. 

“Looks like she’s forgiven you,” Lena remarks. 

Kara chuckles and takes a sip of her tea. “She can’t stay mad at me for too long.”

“I’ll say. She’s obsessed with you.” 

“Apparently she’s not the only one,” Kara says, glancing slyly over her shoulder at her.

Lena side-eyes her from over the rim of her mug. “Someone’s confident.” 

Kara shrugs nonchalantly. “Not without reason.”

Lena swallows, something about this clear attempt at a cocky attitude making her feel things deep inside. “I should not be this attracted to you right now,” Lena mutters as she takes a slow sip. 

“But you are, aren’t you?” Kara’s smirk breaks into a grin, clearly pleased that her ploy has yielded results.

Lena says nothing, though her face must tell Kara everything she needs to know. 

Kara’s stool scoots back as she stands and wordlessly eases Lena’s mug from her hands and sets it down on the counter. Lena’s breath catches in her throat, eyebrows peaked in interest as she wonders what Kara’s next move is going to be. If the spark in her eyes are any indication, it is bound to be trouble. Kara’s hands slide around the back of Lena’s thighs, where they grasp and lift her up onto the countertop, then shifts forwards to slot herself between her knees.

The display of strength is more than enough to coax Lena to tip her head down to meet Kara’s, her hands sliding up to bracket her neck. Kara responds eagerly with hands firmly gripping her waist, pulling her flush to her stomach and  _ christ  _ Kara is ripped. Which Lena was more than aware of already, thanks to her extensive binocular enabled ogling sessions, but _f_ _ eeling  _ the proof of it is a whole different experience. 

Hands moving of their own accord, she pushes Kara’s blazer off of her shoulders, copping a gratuitous feel of Kara’s arms as she does so. Next she makes quick work of Kara’s buttons and slides her shirt off, finally finally finally feeling soft skin over taught muscles like she has imagined more times than she cares to admit. 

Lena swears she feels Kara subtly flex her arms as she circles them around her back.  _ Showoff. _

Kara fumbles with the zipper at the back of her blouse for an exasperatingly long time. Finally, it’s with a frustrated groan that the material rips straight down the curve of Lena’s back and hangs limply off of her shoulders. 

Lena pulls away to dumbly stare at the shreds of material. That blouse was designer, and certainly not cheap.

“I...I can pay for that.” Kara blinks owlishly at her from behind glasses knocked askew.

“No offence, darling, but I highly doubt that you can,” Lena says. She gently removes Kara’s glasses and places them on the countertop.

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Lena says, pupils blown as her eyes flick up to Kara’s. “I’m not.”

Kara swallows hard. “Bedroom?” 

“Bedroom.”  

Kara whips around and presents her back in a clear invitation. Knowing exactly what to do, Lena sheds her former blouse and shimmies forwards until she is laid on Kara’s back, legs hooked around her waist and arms wrapped around her shoulders.

This ain’t Lena’s first Kara Danvers piggy-back ride, though with Kara’s back pressed against her bare stomach she almost doesn’t want it to end. At least when it does end, it’s with Kara depositing her onto her bed and quickly covering her with her own body, arms braced on either side of her head to hold herself over her. 

(Kara is pleasantly heavier than Lena had been expecting—her muscle density must be insane.)

Immediately, Kara’s attention is on her lips, her jawline, her neck. The sounds Lena is making are quite involuntary, as is the way her hips grind up into Kara’s thigh, seeking friction. The explorations of Kara’s mouth take her lower, over collar bones and to the swell of her breasts.

“Kara, wait, wait, wait” Lena gasps suddenly, fisting a halting hand in Kara’s hair. “I can’t... I can’t do this.”

Kara’s head pops up, hair in complete disarray and eyes wide with concern. “Is this too much? It’s okay, we can slow down, we don’t have to,” she says hurriedly.

The pressure eases on Lena’s hips as Kara motions to slide off her and that is the absolute last thing Lena wants. Lena whines in protest, her hands anchoring themselves on Kara’s waist.

“No, no, that’s  _ definitely _ not what I meant,” she says, lifting herself up to press reassuring kisses to Kara’s cheeks and lips. “I just mean I can’t, um, I mean...not with with Lucy here. Watching.” 

Kara blinks down at Lena, then glances over her shoulder to where Lucy sits calmly in the doorway, staring right at them with her head cocked to the side.

“Oh. One moment.” 

Lena misses the contact instantly as Kara shimmies off her and shepherds Lucy out of the room. “Out,” Lena hears Kara command, “atta girl. Trust me, you don’t want to be here for what’s about to happen.” 

“Kara!” Lena squawks, flinging an arm over her eyes as Kara closes the door behind her. 

Kara whips around wearing a wide, lopsided grin. “What? Am I wrong?”

Lena props herself up on her elbows, a ‘clearly done with your shit’ expression on her face. “Just get back over here already.”

Kara doesn’t need to be told twice, and within seconds she’s straddling Lena again, her lips finding her neck. “Yes, boss,” she murmurs, and Lena gasps as she feels the curve of Kara’s grin against her skin.

 

//

 

When Lena wakes, it’s to the sound of nails scratching on wood. 

She blinks her eyes open, takes a few seconds to gather her bearings. Moonlight is filtering in through the curtains, so it’s night time. Also, Kara Danvers is wrapped around her and is, as it turns out, quite naked, save for the pair of sleep shorts Lena had tossed at her face before they’d both swiftly passed out.

Lena’s eyes bulge open with this realisation, and her brain is flooded with a singular thought:  _ did that really happen? _

Kara’s deep, even breaths puff against the back of Lena’s neck in response: yes, that really did happen. It makes her tingle all the way down her spine. 

The scratching continues, more insistent now, so Lena can’t indulge in the feeling. 

Gently, Lena extricates herself from Kara’s arms. Kara makes a groaning sound, frowning in her sleep until Lena bends bends and presses her lips to the crinkle between her brows. The frown eases and Kara rolls over, mumbling nonsensically as she becomes a starfish in the middle of the bed.

Lena lets her sleep. After the afternoon’s efforts, she’s certainly earned it.

Grabbing a dressing gown from her closet, Lena opens her bedroom door to find Lucy sat outside, a pleading look in her eyes as she whimpers softly. 

“Sorry, girl,” she whispers as she pads briskly down the hallway and Lucy trots along behind her. 

Usually Lena makes sure to take Lucy out every night before she goes to sleep, but tonight she was...otherwise engaged.

Lucy bolts out as soon as Lena’s opened the sliding glass doors, heading straight for the small grass area of Lena’s huge rooftop balcony. Lena’s been meaning to get a custom-made doggy door installed for Lucy, but just hasn’t been able to get around to it yet. She wonders if Kara is handy with a set of tools, and before long she’s imagining Kara wearing a construction belt...and not much else. 

Lena hugs her dressing gown closer around her body as she walks over to the edge of the balcony while Lucy goes about her business. The night air is cold, but she’s kept warm thinking of how Kara had arched beneath her only hours ago, of that  _ thing  _ Kara did with her tongue which just shouldn’t be humanly possible, really. 

Lena has no idea what this means for them—they’d been a little preoccupied to actually talk about anything more than what they liked ( _ “a little to the left—more fingers—yes yes right there don’t you dare move—”) _ . But, strangely...she’s not freaking out, which was what she’d been anticipating. For once, she’s okay not having all the answers. She knows it’s something she and Kara can figure out together. 

There’s the sound of the glass door opening and sliding behind her, and Lena turns around to see Kara herself, rubbing sleep from her eyes with the heel of her palm. She appears to have found the button-up shirt she’d worn to the picnic, and has shrugged herself back into it but only bothered to do up the bottom three buttons.

“There you are,” she yawns. Her bare feet make no sound against the tile as she pads over to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Lena, her back resting against the balcony’s edge. “For a second, I worried you’d ran out of me.” 

And Kara looks so damn attractive like that, with her head rolled lazily onto her shoulder, hair falling out of the haphazard bun she cobbled together, giving her a look that is all at once teasing and yet so open...Lena has to try really hard to pull off a convincing scoff. 

“I live here, Kara. If anything, I’d have thrown you out.” 

“Ah, but you didn’t. That means you must like me,” Kara nods sagely. 

“Hm.” Lena trails her fingertips down the opening of Kara’s shirt, quite satisfied with the line of goosebumps they leave in her wake and the way Kara’s breath noticeably catches. “Maybe a little,” she says with a coy smile. 

Kara stands up straighter, her hands finding their way to Lena’s hips and her forehead drops to rest against Lena’s own. The playful air drops between them like a final curtain, any masks they’d been wearing fallen away.

“Hey Lena?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I don’t want this to be a one time thing.”

Knowing this, Lena releases a breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding. There’s room in her chest now for relief, and even a bit of hope.

“Me either,” Lena says.

Kara grins broadly, bouncing a little on her feet like she’s doing a restrained happy dance. “Good,” she says happily. “I’d really like to take you out sometime.” 

“You know, usually when someone says they want to take me out, they mean…” Lena half-heartedly mimes shooting a gun, which makes Kara grimace.

“Lena, that’s horrible,” Kara laughs painfully. 

“What? It’s true.”

“Well, I want to take you out like on a date. Dinner, flowers, candles, you know, the whole thing—I mean, if that’s the sort of thing you’re into. Or I could take you to a street fair. I’ll win you a giant teddy.”

Lena gives Kara an amused look. “You know those games are all rigged, right?” 

“Oh, I’m sure I can hit that thingy with the hammer hard enough without much trouble,” Kara insists confidently, and having evidenced her strength many times over within the past few hours, Lena is inclined to agree. “So...that’s a yes?”

Lena laughs and slips her arms more securely around Kara’s hips. “Yes. Emphatically.”

Kara grins and tips her head down to catch Lena’s lips. Lena feels it in her toes as she kisses her back, and it were up to her she could have stayed there for hours. As it is, Kara’s watch starts beeping right next to her ear.

Kara silences it with a reluctant sigh. “And that’s my cue. I have to pick up a client soon.” Lena gives Kara a questioning look, which she responds with a bashful shrug. “I’m not sure exactly when I started running a 24 hour service, but I don’t think I’ve regretted it more until this moment.”

Lena steps back with a soft laugh. “Go on, Supergirl. The dogs of National City need you.” 

Lucy follows right on Kara's heels as she gathers her things all over the apartment. Fortunately, she has enough sense to not interrupt when she says her goodbyes. 

  
Come Monday morning, Lena gives Kara a kiss with her usual coffee when she picks up Lucy, and  _ finally _ feels a piece of her life lock into place. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I kind of realised I'm fleeing to Canada for a month in less than three weeks.....and I really want to have this finished before then. Updates might be shorter but more frequent then; I tend to write faster when I'm not left to sit on a long ass chapter for two weeks at a time haha.  
> Hope you enjoyed,  
> until next time  
> xxx


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena gets used to a new normal, but life was never going to be easy for a Super and a Luthor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow it's been a million years since I updated but I promise I haven't forgotten this story, life just got hectic and I'm travelling at the moment but anyWHO, ON WITH THE GAY sorry if this chapter is all over the place

Kara Danvers is an exceptionally strange person. 

This is something Lena was already aware of before their burgeoning relationship—the woman spends most of her time in the company of six to ten dogs at a time, how sane could she be?

Kara’s strangeness is part of what drew Lena to her in the first place; she’s never met anyone like her before. But...as time goes on, Lena notices that Kara is strange in more ways than her dog preoccupation. 

First, her appetite is, quite frankly, out of this world.

Before Kara, Lena went grocery shopping once a fortnight at most. Now, with Kara spending most nights out of the week at her place, she has set up a recurring grocery delivery to replenish her cupboards and fridge once every two days. Lena even buys a second fridge, despite Kara’s protests that it’s completely unnecessary—protests that were punctuating by the contradictory rumbling of her stomach. 

Lena can only watch Kara eat entire double orders of takeout with a mix of mild horror and intense fascination. She has half a mind to drag Kara to her labs to conduct a study of her metabolism. Where she puts it all is a complete scientific marvel. 

Another thing Lena notices, is that Kara never gets cold. 

As spring seeps into Winter and even Lucy starts wearing a puffy parka jacket on her walks, Kara still takes the dogs running in nothing but a damn sports bra and booty shorts. However... Lena still gets too distracted by the sight of athletic wear Kara to question it too much. She figures running must keep a person warm, not that she would know from personal experience. 

The fact that her apartment is gradually falling apart also eventually comes to Lena’s attention. 

There are cracks around door frames, chips of her countertop missing, hand-shaped indentations in her bedhead. For a while, Lena doesn’t question it, attributes it to sketchy contractors or Lucy exhibiting a more destructive streak when she’s not around. 

However, stripping the sheets one morning, Lena’s eyes go wide when she sees that there is a rip straight through her thousand thread count undersheet. She vaguely remembers hearing a tearing sound the night before. She’d been otherwise preoccupied with her face buried between Kara’s legs to question it at the time. 

“Kara!” she calls out, voice pitching high. 

“Yeah?” Kara calls back around her toothbrush. 

Lena stomps over to the bathroom, holding the sheet spread out in her arms so the gaping rip is glaringly obvious. “Kara, darling, I get it: you work out. But do you think you could take it easy on my sheets?” she asks wearily. 

All Lena hears is a metallic ‘plink!’ and when she drops the sheet down she sees a wide-eyed Kara staring at her with her toothbrush dangling out of her mouth and her custom made Swiss faucet handle twisted off in her hand. 

“I can fix that,” Kara says. Some toothpaste dribbles down her chin. 

“I may as well move at this point,” Lena sighs, shaking her head in disbelief as she bundles the sheets up in her arms. 

Despite the gradual deterioration of her home, Lena finds she is happier than she’s been in a very long time, and Kara is entirely to blame. Lena loves nothing more than when things work, and being with Kara...it works, in their own crazy way. 

They work around each other’s busy schedules; they make time for one another. As promised, Kara takes her to a fair and easily wins her a stuffed dinosaur as big as Lucy. Lena names it Tyrannosaurus Alex and donates it to the Luthor children’s hospital. 

They take Lucy for long walks on Sunday mornings, always in a new spot. Lena leaves her phone, tablet, laptop, and pager at home, and Kara makes sure to keep her Sundays free of clients so Lucy has them all to herself. 

They watch movies together after Lena has finished with work and Kara has dropped off her last client for the evening. Tucked into Kara’s side, a huge bowl of popcorn in Kara’s lap, and Lucy sprawled out across the both of them, Lena thinks it’s the closest thing to family she’s had since Lex was her brother. 

//

Lena gets used to the rotating roster of dogs Kara has in her care occupying her apartment, which is something she never thought she would say. 

It quickly feels normal to expect an assortment of fluffy, panting creatures to be spread throughout her apartment which had once felt so cavernous and lonely. Lena doesn’t even bat an eyelash when there’s a pug blinking its buggy eyes at her when she gets out of the shower, nor when she has to slide Willow’s loafish form off her coffee table to make room for her paperwork. Just a typical Thursday evening, really. 

Nothing about the dogs takes her by surprise, that is, until Kara brings home one particular specimen that takes Lena’s breath away. 

“Kara. Who...is  _ that _ ?” Lena asks, completely transfixed by the animal secured to Kara’s hip. The dog is a lean, bean-shaped, grey-bodied creature, which a long, pointed snout and deeply intelligent eyes. He sticks close by Kara’s heels as she leads him into the apartment, looking nervous as anything. 

Kara chuckles softly as she bends down to unclip him, and encourages him to come over and meet Lena. 

“This is Oisin,” Kara says. She watches Lena with an infinitely fond look on her face as she shuffles to the edge of the couch to meet the dog, staring at him in complete awe. “Some actress lady needs him to be looked after for a few days while she’s filming on location. Kinda funny looking, isn’t he?”

Lena instantly feels connected to the creature before her, and when she looks into his eyes, it’s like he is looking right at her soul. “He’s beautiful,” she whispers. She dares to reach out a hand and strokes his weirdly shaped head with reverence, and nearly cries when he leans into her touch. 

Lena looks up at Kara with shimmering eyes as the profoundness of the moment settles on her shoulders. “Don’t you ever let anything bad happen to him,” she says, clenching her jaw tight. 

“I’m only looking after him for a few days—”

“I said  _ ever _ !” 

“Alright, alright!”

Lena usually knows better than to get too attached to the dogs Kara brings home with her. But something about Oisin is just...special. Seemingly oblivious to his size, he spends most of his time in Lena’s lap, his long snout perched on her shoulder while she works on her laptop like she doesn’t have an oversized bean parked in her lap. 

When Kara’s time taking care of him is up, Lena actually does cry. Lucy, for one, is just happy to have her favourite lap back. 

//  
  


L-Corp comes under fire when plans for an alien detection device Lex had been working on are leaked to the public. 

Suddenly, Lena is fielding outraged calls from alien rights activist groups on one side, and doing what she can to publicly distance herself and L-Corp from anti-alien groups praising her for finally coming back around on the other. 

It’s a PR nightmare that has Lena working herself into the ground to come out of it with minimal damage. 

On top of everything, the situation seems to affect Kara strangely too. 

Kara plods in with her eyes fixed on her phone screen when Lena opens the door to Kara and the morning gang of dogs.

“Good morning to you too?” Lena remarks, quirking a brow as Kara brushes past her without so much as a hello. 

Kara blinks back up at her and shakes her head in apology. “Sorry, sorry. I was just reading.” She shifts from one foot to the other as the dogs mill about her legs and sniff as far into Lena’s apartment as their leads will allow. “Lena, you don’t...you don’t really think aliens should be forced to reveal themselves to humans, do you?”

Lena freezes from where she’s wrangling Lucy’s furry limbs into her harness. “Are you reading The Daily Planet?” she asks. Accusation enters her voice as she feels her defenses slide into place, cold and hard. 

“Does it matter?” Kara asks. 

“It does,” Lena replies coolly. “The things they wrote about my brother…” she trails off with a frown and shakes her head. “I expect they’re writing the same things about me now too? Another bigoted, mad Luthor, right?” she scoffs wryly, the tension of the past few days making her short and irritable.

“No, it’s not like that,” Kara says, wringing her hands around a poodle’s leash. “It’s just—a device like this could hurt people, both aliens and humans. It just divides us all when we should be working together.” 

“I know. Which is why I scrapped the project when I took over Luthor Corp. Those plans were never meant to see the light of day and now this is all just a disaster,” Lena says with a weary sigh, rubbing at the headache that drums persistently at her temples. 

“Oh.” Kara looks down at her feet guiltily. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” 

Lena fastens the last of Lucy’s buckles and straightens to hand Kara the lead. When Kara’s fingers graze hers to hold the lead, Lena twines them together with hers, thumb swiping over the back of her wrist.

Kara looks up to finally meet her eyes, and Lena feels her defences give way under her gaze.

“You know me, Kara. You know I’m not like that. That I’m not like him, right?” 

She’s imploring, and a little desperate, she knows that. Kara has seen the good in her from the first day they met. If she doesn’t have her, what hope does she have in facing the rest of the world? 

The concern marking Kara’s face gives way to the smallest of smiles, tentative as it may be, and she nods, applies pressure to Lena’s hand. “Right. Yes, of course I know that. I’m sorry, Lena, this whole thing is just...it’s hard. To remember that the world can be so cruel to anyone different. Anyone like me, and I’m one of the lucky ones; I can actually  _ do  _ something to make a difference, right? So what on earth am I doing?” 

Kara’s rambling, like she often does, pacing the length of Lena’s kitchen, and the dogs shuffle along behind her, tongues lolling as they gaze dopily up at Kara’s wildly gesticulating hands. Lena has no idea what Kara is talking about, and struggles to clip Lucy onto Kara’s dog-walking belt, just missing her as she walks by. 

Kara cuts herself short when Lena finally succeeds in attaching Lucy to her belt, coming to a sharp halt and blinking down at Lena, like she’d forgotten she was there. 

“Kara, what are you talking about?” Lena asks, panting slightly from the effort of chasing Kara around her kitchen. She just wants to understand, it’s like there’s a piece of the puzzle she’s missing that would make everything make sense. 

Kara sighs, long and heavy, her head dropping to her chest. “Lena...there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now.” 

Lena tilts her head, wondering what exactly could be weighing so heavy in her girlfriend’s eyes. Wondering if this is the missing piece. “What is it?” she asks. 

Kara squares her jaw, sucks in a breath, and that’s when Lena’s phone rings. 

Lena curses under her breath at the interruption and sighs miserably. “I should take this. It’s Cat Grant, I reached out to her about doing some damage control…” she worries at her lip, glancing up at Kara who nods in understanding. 

“Answer. Miss Grant doesn’t take well to being ignored. The pups are getting restless anyway,” Kara insists with a tight smile. 

“We’ll talk soon, okay?” Lena says with a meaningful look. 

“Right,” Kara responds. Lena kisses Kara’s cheek before she answers the call that will hopefully be her saving grace. 

//

Thanks to an extensive interview with Cat Grant to help set the record straight and several late nights, Lena rides out the alien detection device scandal and can finally breathe again. 

Finding themselves with a free day for the first time in a while, Kara suggests they take Lucy to the park. She packs a picnic blanket and basket, and they walk hand in hand to the spot where they’re going to meet Sam, Ruby and Alex.

With one hand wrapped around Kara’s and the other holding Kara’s leash, Lena feels the coil of anxiety that had taken up residence in her chest gradually loosen. Fresh, crisp air fills her lungs, and she smiles at Lucy’s wagging tail as she trots a few steps ahead.

Lena unclips Lucy’s leash when they reach the spot, and tosses a ball for her a few times while Kara unfolds the picnic blanket. She’s wearing a soft-looking hoodie (at Lena’s insistence), and not for the first time Lena is overcome with gratitude that this strange and wonderful woman came into her life.

A quiet “thank you” falls from Lena’s lips.

Kara looks up at her from where she’s getting comfy on the picnic blanket with a bright, curious smile that makes Lena feel warm from the inside. “For what?”

Lena sits herself down next to Kara and shuffles into her side. Lucy comes back with the ball and flops down at their feet, ears up and mouth open as she surveys the view from the little hill. 

“For being here. For being you,” Lena says as Kara’s arm slides around her back. “This whole situation has been the hardest thing I’ve had to handle since taking over the company. But you’re still here, so...thank you.” 

Kara looks puzzled as she presses a kiss to Lena’s temple. “Of course I’m here. There’s nowhere else I’d want to be.” 

Lena allows herself to settle into the feeling of being wanted and safe for a few moments before tipping her head up to look at Kara. “The other day, you wanted to tell me something. Want to talk about it now?” 

Kara swallows audibly, her brow furrowing before she quickly shakes her head. “Let’s just enjoy today, okay? The others are here anyway.” 

Kara waves an arm over her head and in the distance Lena sees what appears to be Alex giving Ruby a piggy-back and Sam leading a small lump along. As they approach, that small lump turns out to be Butternut, who looks thoroughly unimpressed with her bright pink harness and leash that, judging by the little bone designs printed across it, was clearly made for a dog. 

Alex grunts as she deposits Ruby on the picnic blanket next to Kara. “You’re getting big, Rubes. What are you feeding this kid?” 

“She gets her two fruits and five vegetables every day, though if it were up to her, I’m sure every meal would be pancakes,” Sam smirks. 

“Is it pancake o’clock?” Ruby asks and her head pops up over Kara’s shoulder. 

“ _ No _ ,” Sam laughs emphatically.

Lena tightens her hold on Lucy’s leash when she sees her staring intently at Butternut, ears pricked up and tail wagging. “Lucy,” she murmurs firmly, a slight warning in her tone. 

Lena feels Kara chuckle softly behind her, and her hand appears on hers to ease her fingers apart. “She’s fine, she’s just curious.”

Lena relaxes her grip slightly and watches Lucy cross the picnic blanket to sniff at Butternut. Butternut stiffens, her eyes wide even with her squashed face. She allows Lucy to sniff at her for three full seconds before batting her nose away with a paw, causing Lucy to rear back in offence. Her curiosity satisfied, Lucy returns to her parents and spins in a circle before sitting by Lena’s side. 

“Good girl,” Kara hums and palms her a treat from their bag. 

“That was pretty friendly for Butternut,” Sam comments.

“I’ll say,” Alex agrees. The pair hold up their arms to display scratch-covered hands and wrists. 

“It’s how she shows love,” Ruby says defensively, cuddling Butternut to her chest.

“How’s the allergy medication working, Alex?” Lena asks.

“Great, I haven’t sneezed once since you started me on the trial.” 

“That’s fantastic! Any side effects?” Lena asks, grabbing her phone out to take notes. 

“Nope! None at all!” Alex insists, though her suddenly flushed cheeks and shifting eyes would indicate otherwise.

“Alex, I need to know about any side effects or anything that impacts performance,” Lena says with a slight frown. 

“Oh I’d say her ‘performance’ is just fine; if anything, it’s never been better,” Sam says casually, causing Alex to choke mid-sip from her sports bottle. 

“Well?” Lena prompts, her eyebrow arched expectantly at the pair of them. 

“Rubes, why don’t you take Butternut and go play?” Sam asks, much to Alex’s apparent relief. 

“Can Lucy come too?” 

Lena glances over her shoulder at Kara, who nods in encouragement. “Sure,” Lena says and passes Ruby Lucy’s leash. 

“Here, take this, she’ll love you for it.” Kara tosses Ruby Lucy’s ball and Lucy’s tail starts wagging immediately. 

When Ruby has skipped off with an enthusiastic Lucy and a decidedly less enthused Butternut, Lena fixes Sam and Ruby with a hard look.  “Okay, what’s the deal with the medication?” 

Alex groans and drops her head between her knees, muttering “this is so embarrassing” under her breath. 

A grin curls Sam’s lips and she shuffles closer to Lena on the picnic blanket. “Ever since she started taking it, she’s been, like...an animal in the bedroom,” she says, eyebrows waggling. “It’s pretty phenomenal.” 

Lena’s eyebrows shoot up in interest. “Oh! Wow. That is...unexpected,” she hums, typing up an email on her phone to get the lead on the project to investigate the impacts of the drug on women’s libido. 

“Yeah, I mean she was amazing before, no complaints here, but now she does this _thing_ —”

“And I’m out!” Kara squeaks, springing to her feet. “I’m going to play with Ruby before this conversation permanently scars me.” 

Kara bends down to press a swift kiss to Lena’s forehead before she jogs off to where Ruby and Lucy are playing fetch. 

Alex flops down onto her back, covering her face with her arms. “Tell me when this is over,” she grumbles. 

The afternoon passes in a blur of laughter, playful teasing back and forth, belly rubs for Lucy, and Kara inhaling most of the picnic they’d packed. By the time the sun is dipping low in the sky, the stress hanging over Lena’s shoulders has been replaced by a blanket of comfort and belonging. Kara smiles up at her from where her head rests in her lap, and Lena returns it with ease, brushing a wisp of blonde hair out of her face.

A moment later, Kara’s expression twists into a frown and she sits bolt upright, displacing Butternut who had been laying on her stomach. 

“Did you guys hear that?” 

“Hear what?” 

“Sounded like…” Kara closes her eyes, and when they open, they are filled with alarm. “An explosion. A fire. People are in trouble.” 

She’s on her feet, fists clenching and unclenching with restless energy by her sides. Alex quickly springs up and squeezes a hand around her wrist. “The fire department will take care of it,” she says lowly, a hard edge to her voice that makes Kara clench her jaw. 

“We should still go and make sure,” Kara mutters back. Alex resigns with a sigh and nods concedingly. 

Lena gets to her feet, not sure exactly what is going on but she gets the sense Kara is about to run off and do something rash, so she’d rather she be there than not. 

“I’ll pack up and take care of Ruby; you guys go check it out,” Sam says, and before Lena can get a word in edgeways, Kara is pulling her and she’s pulling Lucy out of the park. After a few minutes she hears blaring sirens, and the smell of burning is in the air. 

When they reach the scene, an apartment block just at the edge of the park, the firefighters are there, unleashing torrents of water on a fierce blaze that consumes three floors of the building. Police have set up a barrier to keep onlookers back, and the three of them squeeze themselves through a small crowd to the front. 

Lena watches with wide eyes, one hand clenched around Lucy’s lead and the other gripped in Kara’s. 

Kara watches the firefighters struggling against the flames with a look of utter frustration, her teeth grinding against each other as her eyes dart back and forth. 

“Alex—”

“Kara, no.” 

“But Alex I can—” 

“Kara,  _ no. _ ” Kara huffs a frustrated grunt, nostrils flaring. “Just...just wait. Please.” 

Lena has never seen Kara like this. Like her entire being is filled with bottled up energy, like she wants to just take flight but an invisible force keeps her rooted to the ground. The fire is reflected in the lenses of her glasses and in the deep blues of her eyes behind them.

“It’s going to be okay,” Lena says gently, applying a squeeze to Kara’s hand. “Look, they’re getting everyone out.” 

Kara looks to the exit and sure enough the police are there ushering residents evacuating the building through a fire escape towards safety and awaiting paramedics for those who need medical attention. She doesn’t relax, not until a firefighter emerges from the building with a man draped over his arm and announces “That should be everyone”. With the residents safely evacuated, the firefighters direct their attention to controlling the blaze that rages on. 

“Ma’am, you’re going to have to stay back.” 

Two women who came from the building are trying to push their way back, tear tracks down their soot-covered distraught faces. “Our son is still in there!” she cries. 

The police officer’s eyes widen and he waves the fire chief over. “There’s a kid still inside,” he says. 

“We checked the place; we got everyone out. Maybe he’s with the other evacuees.” 

“He’s not—Ollie’s not—” one woman stammers. 

“He’s our dog,” the other woman finishes for her, putting an arm around her shoulders. 

The fire chief sighs, wiping at the sweat across his brow. “I’m sorry, ladies, I can’t risk sending one of my guys back in there; the place could collapse at any moment.”

The fire chief gets called back over to help his team, and the women are ushered back in tears.

Without a word, Kara whips around and strides into the nearest alley. Alex and Lena exchange glances before going after her; Lena has to jog a bit to keep up with Alex’s brisk pace. They find Kara standing with her fists clenched, head bowed, eyes closed. 

“Kara…” Alex says, eyes pleading, like it’s a last resort. 

Kara looks up, her mouth set in a grim line. “I’m going, Alex.” 

The eldest Danvers crosses her arms over her chest, a solemn look on her face. “You know what this means. Everything will change if you do this.” 

“You heard them, Al, they’re just going to leave Ollie up there. I can—I can _hear_ him,” Kara whispers. “He’s so scared.” 

Lena wrings Lucy’s leash in her hands as watches the sisters in complete confusion. “Kara,” she says, and her voice sounds so small. Kara snaps her head over to her, blinking like she’s only just realised she was there. “Kara, what’s going on?” 

“Lena...Lena, I’m so sorry. I should have told you everything so long ago, I just—” Kara reacts to a noise only she seems to be able to hear and she takes a few steps back. She flips her hood over her head, pulling the drawstrings tight. “I have to go.” 

“Wait!” Alex turns to Lena and unravels her scarf from around her neck, then wraps it around Kara’s face so only her eyes are exposed. “Try to keep your face hidden, at least,” she says, everything about her heavy. 

Kara nods once, and catches Lena’s eye one last time. “I’ll explain everything, I promise. Please...please forgive me.” 

And Lena watches, completely dumbstruck, as her girlfriend turns on a heel and shoots off into the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter (and Oisin's lil cameo, I couldn't resist :q)  
> Thank you always for your comments and responses, hopefully the next chapter shouldn't take as long. It may be the last or second last one!  
> muah xx


	8. A Super and a Luthor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really pushed to get this chapter done so I wouldn't leave you guys on a cliffhanger for too long! I know that was a bit mean

The same footage has been playing on every news channel all evening. 

A hooded woman flies into a burning building and emerges moments later with a scared-looking terrier in her arms. She delivers the terrier to his sobbing owners before facing down the blaze with a determined set to her shoulders. She then flies around the building so fast she becomes a blur, so fast the fire is starved of oxygen and is extinguished. The crowd below erupts into cheers, and the woman hovers above them all, breathing hard. The scarf she has wrapped around her face billows in the wind before she shoots off into the sky and disappears. 

The news coverage switches to interviews with witnesses and officials after that. The fire chief says the building could have collapsed if not for the flying woman’s intervention. 

A young boy ecstatically exclaims that it was the most amazing thing he’s ever seen.

The two women and their rescued terrier sob out tearful thank yous to Ollie’s guardian angel. 

The news piece concludes with the question on everyone’s mind:  _ who is this mysterious woman? _

“Who is she indeed?” Lena murmurs to herself.

Her fingers tap on the glass of whiskey she’d poured herself the moment she got home. She’d made the conscious decision to limit herself to one—just enough to take the edge off, to settle her overworked nerves. She finally drains the last dregs of it and runs her fingers through Lucy’s coat, an action that has allowed her to remain grounded ever since her world was turned on its head. 

Kara Danvers—her girlfriend, her dog-sitter—is the woman on the screen. ‘Supergirl’, if Cat Grant’s branding sticks. Which it almost certainly will; she  _ is  _ the Queen of all media. 

A slew of questions cat-and-mouse each other around Lena’s brain, each more upsetting and unproductive to dwell upon than the last. 

Who is Kara?  _ What  _ is Kara? The similarities to Superman are glaringly obvious to Lena now. she can fly, just like him, she’s strong, just like him, she even has his blue eyes for goodness’ sake. Is Kara the same as  _ him _ ? 

The darkest corners of Lena’s mind cause her to wonder if this was all an elaborate scheme devised by the Man of Steel: a final blow against the Luthors after all Lex has done. Perhaps she really is destined to suffer for Lex’s crimes for the rest of her life.

Lex always said that the worst of them—’them’ being aliens—were the ones who hid in plain sight. The ones who might hand you your morning coffee, who might report the weather on the news, who might get stuck behind you in traffic...who might walk your dog every day. 

_ “They’re liars, Lena,” _ he’d say.  _ “They might look like us, talk like us, act like us, but they’ll never be us. They walk among us, gain our trust, and that’s when we are at our most vulnerable. That’s they strike.” _

Her brother had always been Lena’s role model, her fiercest defender and greatest supporter. When faced with a problem, Lena wondered, what would Lex do? But that was before his mind had been corrupted, twisted by paranoia and fear into something Lena couldn’t recognise, let alone wish to emulate.

So. What  _ would  _ Lex do in this case? Lash out, most likely. Feel deceived, and react out of anger. 

At best, Lena feels hoodwinked. Mentally cataloguing all the broken things in her apartment, all the off-kilter things Kara has said, all the evidence that points to Kara being not of this world, Lena feels quite the fool for not even questioning that there might be more to Kara than meets the eye. She’d been so blinded by her feelings and attraction that they’d all slipped her notice—it makes her want to laugh at herself.

At worst, Lena feels betrayed. Kara kept this secret from her for so long, it makes her wonder if she was ever going to tell her the truth. But when she closes her eyes and thinks of Kara, she doesn’t see a liar or an enemy, or anything growing up with Lex prepared her to see when she encountered an alien. She just sees...Kara.

In the end...Lena doesn’t know how exactly she feels. She is only certain of one thing, and that is that things can’t go back to how they were. This...this changes everything. 

Lena is about to break her own rule and pour herself another drink when there’s a knock at the door.

Lucy’s head pops up from the couch, eyes wide and excited, and she bounds towards the sound. Her tail smacks against the hardwood floor until Lena reaches her and takes a deep breath, resting her hand around the door knob.

Kara is on her doorstep, shifting her weight from one foot to another and wringing the borrowed scarf in her hands. As soon as Lena opens the door, Lucy bolts out and eagerly bounds about Kara’s legs, sniffing her all over. 

“Hey there Lucy goose. Settle down girl,” Kara murmurs, patting Lucy’s head and face until she calms down and sits by Kara’s side, blissfully unaware of the hesitant way Kara looks at Lena, or the uncertain way Lena looks back. Silence stretches out between them like a chasm, filled with everything they know that needs to be said but that neither of them have the words for.

“Hi,” Kara finally says, meeting Lena’s eyes for the first time since she arrived. 

Lena presses her lips together, finds herself unsure of how to respond. Ultimately Lucy decides for her and nudges the backs of her legs, pushing her into Kara’s space. 

“Oh!” she gasps in surprise at the sudden closeness, but it does help break the tension of the moment. Traces of smoke linger on Kara’s person, making Lena’s nose scrunch up. “Did you even shower?” She picks a bit of ash from Kara’s hair and pinches it between her fingers. 

“What? Oh, um, no,” Kara stammers. “I wanted to come see you as soon as I could. Today’s been...it’s been crazy, there was this whole thing I had to do with Alex. Turns out there’s a lot of paperwork to do when you expose yourself as a...um...as a…” 

Kara trips and stumbles all over the elephant in the room, so Lena decides to help her out. 

“An alien,” she supplies.

“Right. Yeah. That.” Kara’s eyes flit around Lena’s face until she is finally able to look her in the eyes. “We should talk.” 

Lena presses her fingers into her opposite arm before she finally nods and steps aside to let Kara in. She pulls the door shut behind Kara and Lucy and looks Kara up and down. 

“Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up first.”

“But Lena—” 

“We’ll talk. Just not when you’re bound to leave stains all over my couch.” 

Kara looks like she’s going to insist further, but her protest drops when Lena gently takes her by the hand and leads her to the bathroom. Once inside, Lena runs a bath, checks it’s the right temperature with her fingertips before she stands in front of Kara once again. 

Kara watches as Lena slides her glasses off and places them on the bathroom counter.

“Do you even need these?” Lena asks. 

Kara shakes her head. “No, not really. I mean—I used to. They’re lead lined, to block my x-ray vision. I had trouble controlling my powers when I first came to earth; everything was so overwhelming. Jeremiah made these for me. They...they helped.”  

Lena says nothing, though the fact that this might be the first true thing Kara has told her about her past is not lost on her. She gives a small, sad smile as a tiny piece of the very much incomplete puzzle that is Kara Danvers slides into place.

“Arms up,” she then instructs. Kara does so, and Lena slides her hoodie up and off. The rest of Kara’s clothes go in much the same way, until she stands naked in the middle of the bathroom. 

She’s so beautiful, Lena thinks. How _could_ she be from this planet?

Lena tells Kara to have a quick shower while she tosses her dirty clothes in the wash and grabs some clean clothes from her room. The bath is full when she comes back, and Kara has washed the worst of the soot from her body. Lena indicates for Kara to get in the bath with a nod of her head. 

Kara looks so small sitting in the middle of the tub. Her eyes track Lena as she moves to sit on the edge and gestures for Kara to come close. Kara scoots over, and wordlessly Lena uses a shallow dish to pour water over the top of her head. 

There’s soot around Kara’s hairline, which Lena wipes away with her fingertips as the water runs down. She hesitates slightly before smoothing down the crinkle between Kara’s brows with a thumb, and Kara finally breathes out, long and jagged, like the air was trapped in her chest. 

Lena squeezes some shampoo into her palm and proceeds to work it through Kara’s hair, the blonde tresses turned caramel brown in the water. Kara’s eyes drift closed when Lena presses circles into her scalp, a soft sigh escaping her lips. The sigh catches partway, morphs into a sob, and Kara presses the back of her hand to her mouth to stifle it.

“Shh,” Lena whispers, and gathers Kara’s lathered hair together. “Put your head under for me.” 

Kara swallows before she slips down in the bath and submerges herself fully. She stays down for a long while, so long Lena starts to worry, but eventually she comes back up, wiping soapy water from her eyes. 

“Better?” Lena asks. Kara nods.

Lena smoothes conditioner into Kara’s hair, gently pulling through knots and tangles that must be the product of flying through the air faster than the speed of sound. Kara stays quiet and allows Lena to work.

“You helped a lot of people today,” Lena says once Kara’s hair is devoid of tangles and she is able to run her fingers through freely. 

Kara draws her knees up to her chest, focuses her eyes on the drops of water that run down them.  “You think so?” 

“Mhmm,” Lena hums. “Not just Ollie and his owners, or even the firefighters on the scene. Seeing you out there, doing those things...it’s like the whole city is filled with hope, knowing there’s someone out there like you. A hero.”

“A hero…” Kara tries on the word for size. “I think this is the reason I’m here, Lena,” she says quietly, and Lena stills her hands.

“I think it is too.” 

There’s heat building at the backs of Lena’s eyes and she’s glad that Kara is facing away from her. With a sniff, Lena rinses her hands off in the bathwater and gets up to grab Kara a towel. 

“Come out whenever you’re ready, okay?” 

While Kara finishes up in the bathroom, Lena pops Kara’s washed clothes in the dryer and heads into the kitchen. Lucy follows on her heels as she moves around the kitchen, putting the kettle on and fetching mugs from the cupboard. 

“On your bed,” Lena says, a command she and Kara had worked on together with Lucy. Lucy hesitates, like she thinks Lena might need her nearby. Lena repeats the command again, and Lucy reluctantly trots over to her plush bed in the corner of the living room. She turns around in a circle, then lays down with her chin on her paws, keeping a watchful eye on Lena.

Lena braces her hands on the stone countertop, closes her eyes and counts backwards in her head. When her eyes open, they land on a half-moon shaped chunk missing from her counter. Lena remembers the way the granite had just snapped off in Kara’s hand, like it was made of polystyrene and not a solid slab of rock. Lena had snuck up on her while Kara had been making pasta; she couldn’t help herself, Kara just looked so cute in that floral apron.

Now, Lena feels a shiver run across the skin at the realisation of the sheer strength Kara must possess. She could break her apart with one finger if she chose to. That was the power Lex always feared, which he tried to match with his machines of destruction. And yet...Kara has never hurt her, not even the smallest bruise. Lena can’t begin to imagine the self control Kara must have exercised in their more intimate moments, how much she must have been holding back.

The kettle boils just as Kara steps out in a pair of sweatpants and a soft button-down shirt. She stops by Lucy’s bed to give her chin a scratch before sitting on the couch, where she waits for Lena to come over with a mug in each hand. Lena settles into the couch, tucks her legs beneath herself. 

“Okay, Kara. I’m listening.” 

Kara tells her everything. 

About how when she was only a child, her parents sent her away from a dying planet to protect her infant cousin. How she watched her home, and everyone and everything she ever knew, burn. How her pod was knocked off course, and she spent over twenty years in a the Phantom Zone, dreaming endlessly in a vacuum of time and space. How her cousin was all grown up by the time she arrived on earth, about how he was a super hero _ ,  _ how he wasn’t able to take care of her and so he left her with the Danvers. 

Kara tells her how loud and overwhelming everything felt for those first few months, how strange birds seemed to her, how she didn’t fit in with other kids, how she didn’t understand what her place was in this unfamiliar planet, now that the passage of time had rendered her original purpose obsolete. Kara tells her how it felt to fly for the first time. 

All Lena can do is listen with hungry ears as Kara gives her pieces of the puzzle. Pieces that lock and fit together, providing Lena with a clearer understanding of who Kara Danvers is. Kara Danvers is an alien, yes. But more than that, she is a refugee, a survivor, an optimist even after living through so much hardship. She and her cousin are the last of her kind. 

The knowledge that Kara is related to the man who served as the catalyst for her brother’s madness is a truth that Lena finds hard to swallow. With every word Kara says, the reality of the situation crystallizes and Lena knows what must be done. It makes her heart clench, like an elastic band is wrapped tight around her chest, squeezing. 

“And I guess that brings us up to pretty much the present,” Kara says, running a hand through her hair. “Keeping myself hidden is all I’ve ever known. Kal-el said it would be safer for me that way, and I didn’t even begin to question it until I started taking care of the dogs.” 

“So...the whole ‘Supergirl’s dog sitting service thing?” Lena asks. 

“It’s a bit of a joke. Kal thinks it’s 'cute'.” Kara grimaces and shakes her head. “But to me, it’s always been about using my powers to help people, in any way I can. Dogs from all over the world respond well to Kryptonese—something about the sounds really gets them to pay attention—and they really love flying—”

“Wait a second. You  _ fly  _ with the dogs?” Lena’s eyes blink wide in disbelief. 

Kara’s cheeks flush and she gives her head a bashful scratch. “Um, yeah. Don’t worry! It’s completely safe, I promise. Here, let me show you.” 

Kara shuffles closer on the couch and pulls out her phone. She goes into her photos and shows Lena an album full of pictures of dogs. She opens one and there’s a beaming selfie of Kara, Lucy and a dachshund looped under one arm, and two more dogs seemingly fixed to a harness of some sort on her back. There are clouds in the background, and what looks suspiciously like the top of the Eiffel tower. Lucy looks like she’s having the time of her life, with her mouth wide open and her tongue lolling out almost licking Kara in the face. 

“See? They love it,” Kara says happily.

“Kara, you can’t—” Lena sputters, “you can’t just fly people’s dogs around the world without their permission!”

Kara blinks back at her. “Why not?”

“Just because!” Lena exclaims, eyes bulging at just the thought of the legal nightmare it would be if Kara’s other clients were to find out that Kara’s dog walks involved trans-continental travel.

Kara shrugs and swipes to the next photo, which is of Lucy having a staring competition with a grey squirrel in front of an ornate building that Lena recognises instantly.

“Is that Buckingham Palace?” Lena asks.

“Yeah! We were just waiting to pick up Willow when this little squirrel came right over to us.” 

Lena shakes her head incredulously, “So when you talk about Willow’s owner Lizzie, you mean…” 

Kara chuckles and nods. “Yep. Her Majesty herself.” 

“Unbelievable,” Lena murmurs. 

“Are you...are you mad?” Kara asks and fiddles with her fingertips. 

Lena quirks an eyebrow. “About the fact that you’ve been flying my dog to exotic destinations without my knowledge, or the fact that you’re an alien who also happens to be my brother’s mortal enemy’s cousin?” 

“Erm. Both I guess.” 

Lena sighs, rubs tiredly at the bridge of her nose. “I don’t know, Kara. I just don’t know.” 

Kara looks down at her hands, bites on the inside of her cheek. “I’m so sorry, Lena,” she whispers. “You don’t know how many times I just wanted to tell you everything.” 

“So why didn’t you?” Lena asks, exasperated. Her voice nearly breaking over the question that hurts the most. “Did you think I wouldn’t accept you? That I’d hate you? That I’d turn into Lex?” 

“I was scared,” Kara chokes out, her hands balled into fists on her thighs. “I thought you wouldn’t be able to look past every that has happened between your brother and my cousin—that you wouldn’t see me anymore, you’d just see  _ him _ . That you’d look at me like you’re looking at me right now.” 

Lena flinches at the hurt in Kara’s voice and drops her eyes away. “Kara…” She tries to say what Kara said isn’t true, but that would be a lie. Lex and Superman's legacy weighs so heavily on her mind, it's much too close, she can’t look at Kara without being reminded of Lex towards the end of it all, raving about the alien threat to society.

“It’s okay,” Kara shakes her head. “It’s my fault. I should have just told you the truth. It wasn’t fair that you didn’t know; I messed up. By the time I should have told you, it was too late. My feelings for you were too strong, and I was too afraid of losing you. Fear made me act really...really dumb.” 

“That’s very human of you,” Lena remarks, feeling numb. 

“Thanks, I guess?” 

Lena sighs and retreats into her thoughts, taking a sip from her tea that has long gone cold. She so desperately wants to just be able to look past everything, but she knows that it’s not possible. There are certain incompatibilities in this world, and a Super and a Luthor together is one of them. Lex made sure of that. 

“The world knows there’s another Super out there now. What are you going to do?” Lena asks softly. 

Kara takes a moment before answering, her brow creased in thought. “I can’t go back into hiding. Not when there are so many people out there I can help. I want to be like my cousin; I want to be Supergirl.”

Lena nods her head, accepting Kara’s decision for what it is and all that it means. She shifts closer to her, tucks a strand of hair behind Kara’s ear and looks into her eyes with a sad smile. 

“The city needs you. People need to believe in something bigger than themselves; Supergirl could be that something. And you need to find out what it means to be a hero on your own. But Kara...I can’t follow you down this path. You know that, right?” 

Kara closes her eyes against Lena’s words and the tears that threaten to fall, and presses Lena’s hand to her cheek. 

“A Super and a Luthor? Historically, the two don’t mix, darling,” Lena says quietly. 

Kara’s head drops but Lena catches it with her other hand, wanting so desperately to look into Kara’s eyes, part of her thinking it might be the last time.

“I don’t want to do this without you, Lena,” Kara whispers. 

Lena leans forward and presses a kiss to Kara's forehead. “You don’t need me, Kara. Just believe in yourself, like you’ve always believed in me.”

Kara swallows thickly and nods, and then she’s pulling Lena into a tight hug. Lena allows herself to sink into the embrace, wrapping her arms around Kara’s middle, breathing in deep in an attempt to imprint the way Kara smells and feels on her memory.

“You know this means you’re fired, right?” she asks after a short time.

This pulls a wet, surprised laugh out of Kara. “Who’s going to walk Luce?” she asks in a small voice. 

“ _ I’ll _ walk her,” Lena insists. “I’ll even take her on one of those god-awful hikes you’re always dragging me on.” 

Kara pulls back, wiping tears from her eyes with a pout. “I thought you liked hiking.” 

“Oh, Kara. I  _ despise  _ hiking.” 

“I guess I’m not the only one who lied in this relationship,” Kara sniffs with a weak smile.

“It’s...really not the same, darling.” 

“No, you’re right. It’s not.”

Lena pulls back fully, gives Kara’s hands a squeeze before she lets them go. “I’ll have your things sent over your apartment,” she says, her voice wavering as the reality of what she is letting go sinks in. It’s the way it has to be, she tells herself.

“Oh,” Kara says and swallows thickly. “Thanks, that would be...that would be great.” 

Lena stands, and Kara does too, and they stand a little uncertainly in the middle of the living room. “Do you want to use the balcony? Up, up and away and all that?” Lena asks, gesturing vaguely with her hand. 

Kara laughs and bit and shakes her head. “No, I think I’ll walk. But thanks. Um...can I say goodbye to Luce?” 

“Of course.”

Lucy stands to attention as soon as Kara walks over, looking between Kara and Lena like she doesn’t understand why they’re standing so far apart. Kara drops down to her knees and presses her forehead against Lucy’s. 

“Be a good girl, Lucy-goose. Take care of your Mom for me, okay? I know she likes to act all tough, but she’s a real softy on the inside, shh don’t tell her I said that,” Kara murmurs, flashing a quick smile over at Lena, who rolls her eyes by way of a response. Kara whispers something else to Lucy in what Lena now knows is Kryptonese, before she stands and gives Lucy a final pat. 

Before Lena knows it she’s watching Kara walk away from her apartment towards the elevators, maybe for the last time. 

“Hey, Supergirl?” Lena finds herself calling out, and Kara whips around immediately. “You’re going to be great. Even better than Superman. I’m a Luthor, I would know.” 

Lena closes the door on Kara disappearing into the elevator, leans her back against it and slides down to the ground. The tears pour freely now, and Lucy is at her side, her fur turning damp as Lena cries into her flank. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S GONNA BE FINE GUYS DON'T WORRY OKAY  
> When I first thought about writing this chapter, I thought it was going to be way more dramatic with lots of yelling. But it just didn't feel right. SC is supportive of each other, and I think Lena would be supportive of Kara becoming SG in this universe because she knows it's who Kara is meant to be. But she's also weighed down by being a Luthor, and she has some strong feelings against Superman that she has to work through, and Kara needs to learn what it means to be a hero on her own.   
> So. Them's my thoughts.   
> Please let me know your thoughts in the comments, hope you're not too sad, I know I was feeling the feels writing this.


	9. Must Love Dogs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Lena learn to navigate their worlds now that Supergirl is in the picture. Lena faces her greatest fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, thanks for sticking with me. This chapter is dedicated to Willow, her royal corginess.

Jess doesn’t ask why Lena takes a personal day and promises she can hold down the fort in her absence, a fact for which Lena is extremely grateful and earns Jess her twelfth raise of this year. 

Lena allows herself one day to fall apart. One day to cry and eat as much ice cream as she can and look at pictures of Kara on her phone and hide under the duvet in a cocoon of misery. Lucy stays close by through it all, offering cuddles and reminding Lena that there is something outside of herself and her sadness. Having another living being that depends on her helps. They depend on one another: Lucy depends on Lena to take her out for her evening poop, and Lena depends on Lucy to allow her to cry into her shoulder all evening. Lena's not sure it's a fair trade, but Lucy doesn't seem to mind.

The morning after her day as a complete mess, Lena puts on her makeup, dons her most uncomfortable and therefore intimidating power suit, and slips on a pair of killer heels. She might not feel ready to face the world, but at least she looks like she is. 

Lucy sits by the door as Lena goes about making her coffee, looking at it like it’s about to open any second. With a pang in her chest, Lena realises that Kara would normally be here to pick Lucy up. 

“She’s not coming, girl,” she murmurs and gently ruffles Lucy’s fur. Lena knows Lucy can’t understand her words, but she must pick up on the sadness in her voice and responds with a whine. Lena chews at her lip as she looks down at her dog, who stares back with such sadness in her blue and green eyes. 

First Lucy lost Lex, now she’s lost Kara, and Lena can’t help but feel like it’s all her fault. She testified against Lex, and even though she would do it again, she still feels responsible for sending Lucy’s owner away. And now she’s sent Kara away, too. Kara, who got Lucy to come out of her shell after losing Lex. 

The guilt rises in Lena like a tide, and she feels like she might cry again but she swallows it down, knowing that if she starts she won’t be able to stop. Looking at Lucy, Lena makes a decision and grabs her harness and lead from the hallway closet. 

Walking into L-Corp with Lucy strutting proudly in front of her gives Lena the confidence boost she very much needs to make it through the day. Even when she catches snippets of conversation about Supergirl’s debut all over the office. Even when those conversations stop abruptly whenever she walks by. 

“Good morning, Miss Luthor,” Jess says as Lena exits the elevator. “Oh! And good morning Lucy,” she adds upon seeing Lena’s companion, then frowns a bit. “Is Kara unwell?” 

Lena presses her lips together, pausing midway through checking the small stack of messages left for her on Jess’ desk. “Miss Danvers...is pursuing a career change, I’m afraid.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Jess says and, much to Lena’s relief, doesn’t inquire further on the matter. “Would you like me to vet other dog sitters in the area?”

“No, thank you, that won’t be necessary,” Lena says. The thought of having someone take Kara’s place makes her stomach twist uncomfortably, and she immediately knows what she has to do. “Jess, could you order a medium sized dog bed for immediate delivery to my office? A nice one, with memory foam. Do they make dog beds with memory foam? Find out for me, please. And some chew toys. Nothing squeaky. Oh, and schedule a meeting with HR first thing this morning. We need to update L-Corp’s pet policy.”

An intensely hopeful look flashes across her assistant’s face, though it’s quickly covered up with a professional nod and a prompt “of course, Miss Luthor.” 

When Lena and Lucy walk into her office the next day, Jess is typing happily away with her pet iguana lazing under a heat lamp next to her keyboard. 

//

“Ooh, that’s gotta hurt.” Lena grimaces and spears a tomato onto her fork as she watches the evening news’ footage of Supergirl flying headfirst into a tree. 

She palms off a bit of chicken from her salad to Lucy sitting next to her, ignoring the intrusive thought telling her that Kara would scrunch up her face in adorable disapproval if she caught her feeding Lucy from her own plate like that—as if Kara didn’t sneak Lucy bits of food whenever she thought Lena wasn’t looking! 

Lena can’t help but chuckle to herself as she watches Supergirl emerge from the tree, spitting out leaves and looking thoroughly disgruntled. 

Kara looks good, Lena thinks to herself. The skirt is an interesting choice, though. If it had been up to Lena, she would have put Kara in pants to show off Kara’s fantastic butt. But then again...she’s pretty okay with not having to share Kara’s butt with the rest of National City. That it's something she can keep for herself.

“You need a cape, dummy. It’s called aerodynamics,” she tells the television around a mouthful of lettuce, waving her fork around like a lecturer’s pointing stick. “Right, Luce?” 

Lucy doesn’t respond, her eyes much too focused on the chicken still on Lena’s plate. Lena can’t resist those puppy eyes, and gives Lucy another piece. Kara’s nagging be damned. 

Lena sighs and looks around the dark living room, the television being the only light source. It feels much too empty, devoid not only of Kara but also of all the dogs that would accompany her. Not that she’d ever admit it to Kara, she misses having dogs crawling all over her apartment.  
  
She misses the constant hum of panting and snuffling that permeated the apartment, or nearly tripping over a labrador napping in the doorway, or nearly being bowled over by a dog stampede when it was dinner time and Kara would line all of their dog bowls up by the balcony windows.

She even misses Punkie, the scruffy mutt with uncontrollable flatulence. She’d deal with all the dog farts in Punkie’s arsenal if it meant Kara was there to laugh about it with her, to scoop her up into her arms and lift her high above the toxic fart cloud, shouting "don't worry, I'll protect you from these noxious fumes!". 

Lena sighs and feeds Lucy the last piece of chicken before she sets the rest of her salad aside, finding that she’s not all that hungry anymore. Lucy takes the free lap as an invitation and hops up onto the couch, flopping down with her chin on Lena’s legs. Lena runs her fingers through Lucy’s coat, grateful to have her by her side so she doesn’t feel completely alone. She continues watching the news, slightly relieved that the reporting has moved away from the topic of Supergirl. 

The next time Lena sees Supergirl on television, though, she’s pleased to see a bold red cape hanging proudly from the hero’s broad shoulders. 

//

“Alright, Luce, I hear you.” 

Lena pulls her laces tight and straightens up with a sigh. Today, she is going to run. Or maybe just jog, or perhaps a brisk walk would suffice.

Either way, if Lucy’s wistful looks towards her lead every morning are anything to go by, the short walks between her apartment and L-Corp just aren’t cutting it for her. So now that it’s the weekend, Lena has committed herself to taking Lucy on a real walk, like one Kara would have given her. 

“Now I know it’s not London or Japan or any of those exotic places Kara has whisked you away to without my knowledge, and I know I’m no athlete so you’ll have to slow down a bit, but a walk is a walk, right? We’ll make do.” 

With one last longing look towards her bed which she so desperately wants to crawl back into for the whole morning, Lena attaches Lucy’s lead to her harness and sets out.

She gives up on running after about three minutes and settles instead on a fast walk (which might not even be that fast, she realises as a group of elderly walkers easily overtake her). Still, Lucy seems happy to be outdoors in the park, and Lena’s slower pace means she has more time to sniff at every tree root, flower, and dog poop that catches her interest. 

Lena passes a smoothie stand and orders the greenest one they have on offer, which she sips contentedly on as they walk around. Strangers smile at her as she walks past, some offering her friendly “good morning”s or complimenting her on what a lovely dog Lucy is. Lena doesn’t quite know how to react to these kind strangers, who must not recognise Lena Luthor sans makeup and in active wear. She simply smiles politely in reply, and once they’ve been walking for a while she feels lighter than she has in weeks.

Maybe Kara was on to something when she said exercise was good for the soul. Hiking is still the worst though. 

Lena is tossing her empty smoothie cup into the recycling bin when there’s the sound of whooshing air and people around gasp and point up into the sky. Lena looks up just in time to see a streak of blue and red soaring high through the air, and the rush of recognition hits her straight in the chest. 

Lena wonders whose rescue Kara is rushing off to. If she’s scared, or excited to be out there, using her powers to help people like she’s wanted to do for so long. Lena lets her eyes drift shut for a moment, and she silently hopes that whatever Kara is doing, that she’s safe and that she’s happy. Her musings are soon interrupted by the sounds of two children bickering nearby.

“Was that a bird?” a younger girl asks, eyes wide as she stares up at the now empty sky.

“No, dumbass, it was a plane!” a snot-faced older boy replies.

“It looked like a bird! Like a big, blue bird!” the girl insists.

“It’s neither,” Lena interjects, walking over and looking up into the sky. “It’s Supergirl.” She turns to the young girl with a slight smile. “I think you’re going to be seeing a lot of her from now on. She’s here to protect the city. She’ll protect you if you ever need it,” she promises, and she can’t deny the surge of pride she feels swelling in her chest when she thinks of Kara, helping and inspiring the people of National City.

“Wow...she’s so amazing. I want to be just like her,” the girl breathes, staring skywards in awe.

“Supergirl is lame; she’ll never be as cool as Superman,” the boy says with a haughty scowl, and his sister hangs her head dejectedly. 

Lena narrows her eyes at the rude boy. “Lucy...sit,” she commands. And Lucy does, right on top of the boys’ toy. “Oops. Bad girl, Lucy,” Lena says, though her tone doesn’t match her words in the slightest. 

_ “My drone!”  _

Lena winks over her shoulder at the giggling girl and cackles to herself as she walks away. She supposes sometimes her Luthor genes just shine through.

//

 

It takes some trial and error, but Kara finally seems to be hitting her stride with the whole hero thing. Lena had some concerns that Kara would lose hope after accidentally causing an oil spill in the bay, especially after some less than favourable comments made by one Maxwell Lord, an intelligent but arrogant man Lena never got along with, professionally or personally. 

When she leaves L-Corp one afternoon, there’s the usual slew of reporters hanging around outside her doors, asking for a quote about Supergirl. They’ve been haranguing her since Supergirl’s debut, which Lena has refused to comment publicly on, knowing that any comment she’d make would be twisted to fit the narrative of the day. But today, they’re asking if she agrees with Maxwell Lord in thinking that Supergirl is a menace to society who does more harm than good, and it makes her stop before getting into her car and turn to face the cameras. 

The reporters seem taken aback by Lena’s choice to finally speak to them, stunned enough to quieten down and hear what she has to say.

Lena clears her throat, hands tightening around Lucy’s leash in an effort to ground her. “Supergirl may have made some mistakes, but she’s going to get better. I know I certainly made mistakes when I started at L-Corp, and I’m certain that I will continue to make mistakes in the future. That’s the thing about mistakes: they’re opportunities, for us to learn and get better. Maybe Supergirl just needs to start small before trying to save the world in one day.” 

Lena gives the camera a meaningful look and a quick encouraging smile, imagining that Kara is on the other side of it, thinking that if she could speak to Kara, this is what she would say. She nods her head and returns her focus to the reporters. “Supergirl is trying her best, which is all any of us can do. She is going to make this city a better place for everyone. I have faith in her, and so should you.” 

The reporters erupt into a slew of questions: “what are your motives for supporting Supergirl? What does L-Corp have to gain from supporting an alien? What’s your agenda? What would your brother think about this?” is the last thing she hears before her driver shuts the door and the questions are reduced to an incoherent rabble. 

Lena sighs and rests her head back, hoping that her statement won’t come back to bite her, either professionally or personally. She doesn’t regret it, though. Part of her wants Kara to know that she sees her, and that she supports her. That she’s on her side, even if it’s too complicated for her to be able to give her more than that. 

Lena isn’t left wondering how Kara feels for long. 

That night, her phone vibrates on the counter as she’s pouring Lucy’s dry food from a giant bag into a smaller glass jar. Her heart leaps straight into her throat when she sees Kara’s name pop up, and she squints her eyes to read the message preview.

_ Question...what did you mean by ‘start small’? Like save puppies from trees small? _

A cascade of high-pitched ‘plink!’s alert her to the fact that Lucy’s food is spilling all over the counter and onto the floor, where an awaiting Lucy is more than happy to clean up the manna from heaven. Lena curses and sets the bag upright, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself.

Lena looks at her phone like it might burst into flames at any moment. It’s the first communication she’s had from Kara since they parted ways, and seeing her name popping up so casually has her heart leaping up into her throat. Eventually, she grabs for her phone and composes a response.

_ I think you’ve already done the whole puppy saving routine. Wouldn’t want to repeat yourself,  _ she types out, and has to stop herself from typing ‘darling’ out of habit. She bites her lip, sucking in a steeling breath. Friends text. She can handle being friends, or at least being friendly, right? Before she can think herself into an inescapable labyrinth, Lena bites the bullet and hits send. 

_ Maybe I’ll see if any kitties need my help then.  _

There’s a moment, then another message comes through:

_ Thanks for what you said today. I really needed to hear it.  _

Lena hesitates, her fingers hovering over the keys for a few minutes as she thinks of a response. Finally, she goes with:

_ What are friends for? _

There’s barely a pause before Kara’s reply comes in.

_ Friends, huh? _

_ I can work with that. _

Lena breathes a short laugh of disbelief and shakes her head because what the heck does  _ that  _ mean? She swallows thickly, cursing the familiar fluttering feeling in her stomach that Kara triggers all too easily, and types out a response.

_ Goodnight, Kara. _

_ Goodnight, friend. _

 

//

 

When it pops up on her morning twitter scroll, Lena nearly drops her phone into her porridge. 

_ Queen Elizabeth II loses her last corgi Willow, marking the end of a royal dynasty _ .

Lena’s heart cracks at the thought of Willow, the round-bellied corgi who was a big part in bringing her and Kara together and brought them so much joy and laughter. Her next thoughts are of Kara, who she knows must be taking the news hard.

She thinks of texting her, but simply texting or even calling feels too impersonal for such an occasion. And that’s how Lena finds herself outside Kara’s apartment, a simple floral arrangement in one hand and Lucy’s lead in the other. Her nerves bubble up inside of her as she stands face to face with the door, telling her to turn around, that she’s not ready to see Kara’s face again. But she quells the feeling, pushes past it. Tells herself it’s for Willow, and knocks. 

When Kara answers, her red-rimmed eyes widen in surprise at seeing Lena on her doorstep. “Lena?” she asks in a small voice, like she can’t believe it’s her. 

Seeing Kara again is like finding a pool in the middle of a desert she’s been wandering for weeks, and Lena is taken aback by the missing feeling hitting her like a wall. She swallows and doesn’t let it show, forcing a small smile. 

“Hey,” she says. “I heard the news. Can I...can I come in?” 

“Yeah, sure.” 

As Kara shuffles over to the side to let Lena in, Lucy jumps up excitedly at her legs, obviously happy to see Kara again. A small part of Lena feels envious, that Lucy can wear her true feelings on her proverbial dog sleeve like that. If Lena were to act how she truly felt, she’d probably be bounding and slobbering all over Kara too. 

Kara drops to her knees and gives Lucy a tight hug, burying her nose into Lucy’s fur. “Hey, Lucy-goose. I’ve missed you so much.”

Lena can’t help but smile at the reunion. Seeing how happy Kara makes Lucy both warms and breaks her heart when she thinks of how they will have to part ways again soon. 

“She’s missed you too,” she says honestly. “I think you spoiled her with all the flying and exotic walks.” 

Kara sniffs a laugh as she straightens back up, scratching the back of her neck bashfully. “Sorry about that. Um. Can I get you anything?” 

“No, thank you, I’m just stopping by. I have to get to the office soon.” 

“It’s Saturday,” Kara says, quirking a brow.

Lena raises one to match. “And?” 

“Fair point. Lena Luthor doesn’t rest for something so trivial as a weekend.” 

Lena shakes her head, though she can’t bring herself to disagree. “Have you spoken to Lizzie?” she asks. 

“Yeah,” Kara replies with a tired sigh. “I flew over to see how she’s doing. We had tea and I showed her some pictures from my time with Willow. Would you like to see them too?”

"Please."

Kara moves to stand slightly behind Lena to show her some pictures on her phone. Lena tries not to make it too obvious that her breath catches in her throat when Kara’s shoulder makes contact with her back and instead focuses on the pictures Kara swipes through. 

There are pictures of Willow looking content as anything, flopped on her back in the sun, others of her with Kara’s other dogs, scrabbling to keep up at the back of the pack.  The last one is of Willow standing majestically atop of a cliff face, her golden fur billowing in the wind. Looking like true royalty. 

“Oh, Willow...she really was a princess,” Lena whispers, feeling her voice about to crack as emotion wells up inside of her. 

“She was. I was holding a giant salami to get her to pose for that picture,” Kara sniffs affectionately as she puts her phone away.

“And how are you holding up?” Lena asks and gently touches Kara’s arm.

“I’m okay,” Kara says with a sad smile. “It was hard enough to stop being her dog sitter, but now...things just change so fast. It’s reminded me that I really miss having the dogs be a part of my life. I think, maybe I should get one of my own, but then I’m so busy figuring this whole Supergirl thing out that I wouldn’t be able to take care of one properly,” Kara rambles and then sighs in frustration.

“Well...maybe I can help,” Lena offers. “How’d you like to spend the day with Lucy? Turns out she’s really great at giving cuddles. I found that out after...well, she’s been there for me when it’s been hard.”

Kara’s eyes widen with hope. “Really? Would that be okay?” 

“Of course. You can drop her off at the office later, if you like. I’ll be there all day.” 

“What do you say, Luce?” Kara asks happily. “Just like old times?” 

Lena’s smile is strained with the knowledge that it’s not, and that it can’t be, ‘just like old times’. But Kara is smiling and Lucy is doing whatever the dog equivalent of smiling is and she can’t bring herself to remind them of it. So she tells them she should get to the office, and that she’ll see them later, before she does something stupid like blowing off work to join them for the day.

A news broadcast later in the afternoon features Supergirl flying through the air carrying an overjoyed fluffy dog in one arm and a convenience store robber dangling from his pants in the other. Lena catches sight of the report playing on the muted TV in the wall of her office just as she’s going over a proposal and barely bats an eyelash before going back to her work.

Shortly after, there’s the sound of boots hitting the floor on her balcony, and when she spins around in her chair there’s a slightly bashful looking Supergirl holding her ecstatic dog in her arms, giving her a small wave from the other side of the glass. 

Lena takes a moment to take the sight in, sitting with an amused smile in her office chair. Her mind vaguely wonders if this is what it would be like, to be with Kara like this. To be with a Super. If it would mean waiting for the sound of boots to hit the floor, turning around and seeing her standing there, smiling and looking at her like seeing her has just made the most powerful being on earth’s day. If it could really be that simple. 

Before she can be caught staring, Lena shakes her head a little and gets up to unlock the door. 

Supergirl strides moreso than walks into her office, cape swishing in her wake. “As promised, here she is in one piece, Miss Luthor.” 

Lena quirks a brow. “We’re back to ‘Miss Luthor’ now, are we?”

The serious expression on Supergirl’s face cracks into a bashful smile; her hand goes up to tweak the arm of glasses that aren’t there, and the illusion shatters: the woman standing in front of her is undeniably Kara. 

“It’s a Supergirl thing, I guess. People take me seriously if I’m more formal.”

“I see,” Lena hums. “I hear you got a new partner in crime today,” Lena says with a knowing smirk, then reconsiders and corrects herself, “well, crime-stopping.” 

Kara chuckles guiltily and she scrubs the back of her neck. “I promise I kept her out of harm’s way. I just heard the robbery happening down the street and I thought I’d just nip down real quick and stop it but then I didn’t want to leave Lucy alone in my apartment so I—” 

“It’s fine,” Lena interjects, giving an assuring smile before Kara hurts herself. “I know you’d never let anything happen to her.”

“Of course not,” Kara insists with a short nod. 

Kara is different like this, Lena thinks. She stands taller, her shoulders broadened, her chin angled out, hands sitting firmly on her hips. If Lena didn’t know Kara so well, the change in demeanor alone would render her unrecognisable. 

An unexpected shiver runs over Lena’s skin. It’s the first time she’s seen Kara—no,  _ Supergirl _ —up close like this. With the suit and the boots and the cape. The symbol Lena knows all too well displayed on her chest with pride. The symbol Lena can’t help but associate with the most painful parts of her life, when Lex would draw it over and over at the height of his madness and his fury towards the Man of Steel. 

Lena wonders what Lex would think of seeing Lucy, his pride and joy, sitting so comfortably in the arms of a Super. He’d probably pop a blood vessel, all things considered. Something about that mental image makes Lena inexplicably cheerful; she stifles a snicker as she alleviates Kara of her dog-holding duties. 

“Thanks for letting me hang out with Lucy today. I really...really miss her,” Kara says, and she’s giving Lena a look that says she might not just be talking about Lucy. 

Lena swallows, feeling a surge of old feelings under that look. With Kara looking like that, she feels safe, she feels wanted, she feels loved. Which is definitely not how one should feel about someone they absolutely cannot be with, because of...what was the reason again? Lena’s finding it hard to remember. 

“Lucy...Lucy misses you too,” Lena says, and she’s definitely not just talking about Lucy. 

Kara’s hands twist into her cape, a gesture that is so Kara Danvers it makes Lena’s chest ache. There’s a moment there, where Lena thinks Kara is about to say something, but suddenly she stops, turns her ear to the city with a frown.

“Someone in trouble?” Lena asks. 

“Not if Supergirl has anything to say about it,” Kara says and puffs out her chest, her cape snapping from the motion. 

A laugh escapes Lena and she shakes her head lightly. “It suits you. Being a hero,” she says. She reaches out to adjust Kara’s cape on her shoulder where it’s folded under itself. Her hand lingers when Kara catches her eye and she’s stuck, falling into their depths. 

“We can do this, you know,” Kara says quietly. “I needed space to figure out what it means to be Supergirl but honestly? I’m sick of space. I was stuck in it for twenty-four years for Rao’s sake. I’m better with you, and I think you’re better with me too, right? So why don’t we just try? We never even tried, Lena.” Kara’s words are soft but full of intent. Lena hears every single chance she’s taking, and every hope she has pinned on them. 

“Kara, I…” 

Lena looks into Kara’s eyes, eyes that are much too full of hope, of optimism she can’t access for herself no matter how hard she tries. She drops her eyes down to the symbol on Kara’s chest instead and...she’s afraid. Not of Kara, but of herself, who she might become. Of the Luthor everyone says she will become, it's only a matter of time.

Lena swallows and forces herself to look away, drops her hand from Kara’s shoulder. “I just... can’t. You should go. Go save the day.” 

Kara sighs and steps back, turning her chin to look out to the city. “Just...think about what I said, okay? Please?” She looks at Lena with the determination of someone who knows what she wants in her eyes before taking off into the sky.

//

Lena’s knuckles turn white as she wrings Lucy’s leash even tighter than she thought possible. She never thought she would be here. Now that she is, she wants nothing more than to jump back on her jet and fly back to National City. 

“Is your dog going in with you, Miss Luthor?” 

Lena blinks over at the guard, taking a moment to process his question. She looks down at Lucy, who stands on stiff alert in this unfamiliar environment. Giving her a final pat, she commands Lucy to sit and hands the guard the leash. Lena feels quite alone as she stares down the steel door. 

A series of metallic clicks follows, the sound of heavy bolts sliding out of place and the door swings open.

“Five minutes, Miss Luthor.” 

Lena feels the absence of Lucy’s strong, comforting presence by her side and almost changes her mind about leaving her outside. Before she can act on that impulse, Lena steps into the room and sees her brother for the first time in nearly two years.

Lex looks just like she remembers him, save for the grey prison jumpsuit and hollowed out look in his eyes. He sits straight-backed in a metal chair in the middle of the room, somehow still managing to look like he owns the place despite being cuffed by his wrists and ankles. The door closes behind her with a condemning slam. 

“Here to hammer the final nail in my coffin?” Lex’s voice oozes across the room, his grey eyes flicking sharply over to Lena. Lena had always felt so seen when Lex looked at her. It used to make her feel confident, capable; now, it just leaves her feeling vulnerable and exposed. 

Lena doesn’t let it show as she huffs coolly as she sits down in the chair opposite him. “You built it all on your own, Lex.” 

Lex scoffs in disbelief and sits back as far as his chained wrists will allow him. “Why have you come here? I thought I was making it very clear how I feel about you and the direction you’ve chosen for Luthor-Corp.” 

Lena narrows her eyes. “First of all, it’s L-Corp now, and if you’re referring to the assassination attempts, message received. You don’t approve.” 

“Of you destroying our reputation, our  _ legacy _ , with alien supporting rhetoric? It’s disgusting.”

“I’m trying to do something good with our so-called legacy. For  _ everyone _ .” Lena tries to imbue her words with enough self-assuredness to go toe-to-toe with Lex’s delusions and god complex. A task that is much easier said than done.

Lex shakes his head in disagreement. “The best thing for all humans would be to rid the earth of those  _ things  _ before they destroy us all.” 

“They’re not going to destroy us, Lex,” Lena sighs, exasperated. “If they had a choice, they wouldn’t even be here! They’d be home, with their people, with their families.” 

Lena thinks sadly Kara. All that she’s been through, all that she’s lost. And still, despite all that, Kara has so much love in her heart; for humans, for aliens, for dogs, for all creatures. Even for a Luthor. 

Lex rolls his eyes. “Come now, Lena. You don’t really believe that pitiful refugee narrative they’ve been spinning?” He tuts his tongue and shakes his head. “Please, you’re so much smarter than that. Sure, they’ll charm you and gain your sympathies with their tragic backstories, but the truth is, they love being this way. On earth, they are  _ gods _ who could rule over us if they chose. Who would give up that kind of power?”

“Supergirl would,” Lena mumbles before she can think better of it. She knows Kara would give up everything—her powers, her life, even the people close to her—if it meant her planet had never died. She had seen it in her eyes, that night she’d told her the truth. Heavy with everything she’d lost.

Lex sighs deeply as he stares back at Lena, like she’s a puzzle he can solve if only he presses the right buttons. 

“Don’t tell me a Super has you fooled. You’re so much better than this. You’re a Luthor. You’re sharp, determined, and smart, Lena, so smart. You might even be smarter than me, which I didn’t think was possible until I met you,” Lex says with a low chuckle. The timbre of it reminds Lena of how he used to be, grinning over at her as her worked his latest invention. “You’re more like me than you think.” 

The words she fears most chill Lena to the bone. She’s heard them in the papers, from her colleagues, from random strangers on the street and ignored them, but hearing them from Lex makes her sick to her stomach. Lena realises Lex’s hands have reached out to cover hers and she pulls them back sharply. 

The action only makes Lex laugh more, an almost manic quality seeping in. He stops himself short and whips his head around at the sound of scratches at the door and Lucy’s strong bark coming from outside. 

“Is that...? You brought her here?” Lex asks, sounding hopeful. 

“She goes everywhere with me,” Lena says evenly.

“Can I see her?”

With a reluctant sigh, Lena looks up at the security camera in the corner of the room and nods. A few moments pass, then the door clicks open and a guard enters with Lucy on her leash. He unclips her and Lucy sits still, looking between Lex and Lena. 

“There you are, my girl,” Lex says, his face softening ever so slightly. “Come,” he commands. 

Lex had ensured the Lucy was well trained and would always do what he said. But now, she hesitates. She stays still until Lex, nostrils flaring, repeats the command with a harsh edge in his voice. Now, Lucy pads over with noticeable trepidation, stiff backed and her ears pointed straight up. 

Lena’s heart sinks a little as Lucy sniffs at the metal around Lex’s ankles. Seeing them together reminds Lena that Lucy isn’t really hers. Lex got her as a puppy, raised her, trained her, and she was his loyal companion for many years. 

The chain clinks through the metal loop that shackles Lex to the table as he reaches out to pet Lucy. But then, to Lex’s apparent shock, Lucy bounds back and growls, teeth barred defensively. Like she doesn't even know the man she knew as her master.

“Lucy!” Lena gasps and gets out of her chair. Lucy backs up all the way to stand in front of Lena’s legs. “It’s alright girl, shh,” Lena murmurs, giving Lucy’s ears a comforting scratch. 

Lex narrows his eyes, watching the exchange. “I see. So my dog is a traitor too. How lovely.” 

“I think we’ll be on our way,” Lena decides. She’s heard enough. Lucy stays close to her heels as Lena makes for the exit and pauses at the door, turning around to face her brother a final time. 

“You want to know why I came here?” she asks. “I came to see if there was still some trace of the brother I loved still inside of you. But now I see that he’s gone. Not even Lucy can recognise you as the good man you once were.” Lena sighs and looks downwards. “But you...you’re not him, not anymore. And I will never be like you.”

  
Lena turns away from the man in the chair, ignoring his howls of “ _ bad girl, Lucy! Bad girl!”  _ as the cell door slams closed behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special mention to Punkie the flatulent mutt from my friend [Superfriendlyfox's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperfriendlyFox/pseuds/SuperfriendlyFox) Supercorp series 'A pig in a blanket on the bed'. If you love animals and domestic, fluffy, funny Supercorp, you have to read this. It's one of my favourite things in this fandom.   
> Next chapter will be the last one! Expect a reunion for our girls, and I'll cram as much fluff in there as I can (both of the wlw kind AND THE DOG KIND). Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see and I'll see what I can do ;)


	10. Must Love Aliens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a storm and also Christmas

It isn’t the thunder that wakes Lena up. Nor the wind or the rain, or even the flashes of lightning. No. It’s the panting mass of fur and panic that launches itself at her face just past midnight that does the job.

Lucy’s ears are up and back, tongue lolling out and flicking with frantic breaths, stopping and starting as she circles Lena on the bed like a confused shark, her giant feet leaving scattered craters in Lena’s California King. She seems to think being up high means safety, and proceeds to try and climb up onto Lena’s headboard. She uses Lena’s shoulder as a step, and Lena gasps as Lucy’s paw rakes down her arm. 

“Lucy!” Lena cries, and leans over to turn her bedside lamp on. Lucy’s eyes are wide and wild; Lena has never seen her like this. Lena tries to calm her down, patting her flank and telling her everything will be alright, but this only seems to agitate Lucy further. 

A clap of thunder shakes the apartment and Lucy leaps off the bed, whining as she starts to frantically scratch at the door frame. 

“Lucy,  _ no! _ ” Lena commands, afraid that Lucy might do something that will hurt herself. Acting purely on instinct, Lena does the first think she can think of and grabs her phone.

“ _ Lena? _ ” Kara answers, sounding groggy but concerned down the line.

“Kara, it’s—it’s Lucy. The storm, it has her all freaked out, I don’t know how to calm her down, I don’t know what to do,” Lena speaks frantically, eyes panicked as Lucy lets out a high-pitched whine.

“ _ I’ll be right there, _ ” Kara replies immediately.  _ “Can you do something for me? Can you open your balcony door in twelve seconds?”  _

Kara doesn’t give Lena a chance to question her request before she’s hung up, and a startled Lena has no choice but to count backwards from twelve as she stuffs herself into a dressing gown and crosses the apartment, wincing at the sound of Lucy’s distressed barks in the background. 

On ‘one’, Lena slides the glass balcony door open and in flies a pyjama-clad Kara. She lands in a crouch in the middle of the living room, a small puddle forming around her on Lena’s hardwood floors. Her eyes are hard and determined when she stands, framed by her wet hair plastered to her face and when she turns to look at Lena, Lena instantly gets the feeling that everything is going to be okay. 

“She’s in the bedroom,” Lena says, and with a nod Kara sets off down the hallway. 

“Can you grab Lucy’s treats and Tigger?” she calls out over her shoulder. 

Lena grabs Lucy’s organic beef treats from the pantry and then roots around the apartment to try and find Lucy’s favourite Tigger plushie, which she eventually discovers stuffed under the couch. 

When she returns to her bedroom, all the blinds are drawn and Kara and Lucy are no longer there. She finds them in the ensuite: Kara has gathered Lucy’s bed and blankets, as well as a few extra blankets from Lena’s bed and put them in the tub, creating a cozy sanctuary for Lucy to sit in. 

Kara’s sitting on the floor next to the tub with her back against the wall, not necessarily looking at Lucy but talking to her nonetheless. She’s saying something in Kryptonese, and Lena rests against the doorframe, listening to the foreign sounds that roll easily off of her tongue. She closes her eyes, feeling herself calm down to the soothing sound of Kara’s words. It sounds like a poem; there’s a rhythmic quality to Kara’s words, like a steadily beating heart or the ebbing and flowing of the tides. 

Kara finishes speaking and turns her gaze to Lena with a small smile. “Look, Luce, look what your mom’s brought you,” she says softly. 

Lena steps inside and gives Lucy her Tigger, which she instantly clamps between her paws and gives her full attention. “Good girl,” Lena says quietly. She sits down opposite to Kara with a shaky sigh, hugging her knees up to her chest. “What were you saying to her?” she asks. 

“A Kryptonian prayer,” Kara replies. “For strength and safety. My aunt used to say it to me, whenever I was feeling afraid.”

Lena pictures Kara as a child on a foreign planet in the arms of someone who makes her feels safe and protected. That person must be gone now, but still Kara carries the ability to make others feel safe with her, just like her aunt did. 

“It’s beautiful,” Lena says, and Kara ducks her head in a thankful nod. They sit quietly, the rain and thunder outside and Lucy’s occasional panting the only sounds. “Thank you for coming,” Lena says after a short while. “It feels silly now, but...I was really scared.” 

“It’s not silly; I would have been scared too. But I’m here for you and Luce. Always.” 

The way Kara is looking at her is so sincere and honest. It makes Lena smile softly, but it’s almost too much; it makes a lump lodge itself in her throat, and she quickly changes the subject.  

“How’d you know exactly how long it would take to get to my apartment?” she asks curiously.

Kara snickers, and thankfully it breaks her serious expression. “Do you know how much physics is involved in flying? I’m always doing calculations like that in my head so I don’t crash into something or give the dogs or someone I’m carrying whiplash. I’m, like...really good at math.” 

Lena’s eyes widen in surprise as she learns yet another thing about Kara Danvers. “Wow. That’s really…”  _ hot _ , her brain unhelpfully supplies, “interesting.” 

Kara chuckles and lolls her head over to look at Lucy, who is chewing on Tigger’s ears.“How you doing, Lucy-goose?” Lucy yawns, a sign that she’s still anxious, but is otherwise quiet and seems content to be chewing her toy. Kara feeds her a treat and nods appraisingly. “She’s calmed down a lot. She must be happy to have her parents together,” Kara says with a cheerful smile, not realising how her words send a sharp pang right through Lena’s chest. 

“Kara…” Lena says, chewing her lip. 

Kara quickly realises her mistake and sits up straight, her eyes wide. “Oh no—I didn’t mean—it’s just she’s used to us being, you know...together, I wasn’t saying that we were or anything like that, I know we’re not, um, like that, you know, any more” Kara rambles, and Lena cuts her off before she hurts herself. 

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” she says and Kara breathes a sigh of relief. Kara’s hands still fidget restlessly in her lap, so Lena decides to change the subject to something more casual. “So...how are you doing?”

“Good,” Kara says, nodding vigorously. “I’m doing good. I’m back at Catco; I’m Cat Grant’s assistant now. Fetching bulletproof coffees and lettuce wraps, apologising to dry cleaners Miss Grant has yelled at, that sort of thing. It’s not glamorous, but it works better as a cover identity than international dog sitter.”

“I’ll bet. Who knows, maybe one day you could be a reporter. I think you’d be good at that,” Lena muses.

Kara’s eyes go wide and bright, her chest swelling with hope. “You think so?” 

“I do,” Lena replies with a kind smile. “You’re stubborn when you need to be, so you’ll have no trouble chasing down leads. And you’re good with people, even if you think you’re better with dogs. I mean, you got me to open up to you, so anyone else you might interview should be a piece of cake, right?” Lena gives a self deprecating laugh, then smirks and adds, “granted, you’re not the best speller, but there’s spellcheck for that.”

“Hey, be nice. English is my fourteenth language.”

Lena laughs until Kara’s pout eases and is replaced instead with a fond smile. She nudges Lena’s foot with her own; Lena nudges it back. Kara chuckles softly and rests her head back against the tile, pushing her wet hair out of her face. 

Lena watches her and something warm unfurls itself inside her chest. Something that whispers those final words she said to Lex:  _ I will never be like you _ , something that has her opening her mouth and asking Kara to— 

“Stay.” 

Kara blinks her eyes wide. “Really?”

Lena nods. “Please. For Lucy, I mean. I’m...worried she’ll start freaking out again if you leave.” 

“Right,” Kara says, an eyebrow raising of its own accord. “For Lucy.”

Kara shivers involuntarily from the wet clothes that cling to her frame, which seems to answer the question that it is indeed possible for Kara to get cold. 

“You must be freezing,” Lena remarks, getting up off the floor.

“I suppose I am,” Kara says, looking surprised at this unusual bodily sensation. 

Lena retrieves a change of clothes from her bedroom and hands them to Kara along with a fluffy towel. 

“I wondered where this sweatshirt was!” Kara exclaims, unfolding her National City University sweatshirt Lena may or may not have neglected to pack along with Kara’s things so she could wear it or just smell it from time to time when she missed her. 

“It must have gotten mixed up with my things somehow,” Lena excuses and waves her hand dismissively.  

“Let’s see if Lucy is ready to leave the tub. Can you call her over?” Kara asks, handing Lena Lucy’s treats. 

“Come on, girl,” Lena says. Lucy hesitates until Lena pulls out a treat from the packet, then clambers out of the bathtub and sits by Lena’s feet. “Good girl,” Lena says and rewards her. “We’ll let you get changed,” Lena says, giving Kara a quick smile before she clicks the door shut behind her. 

Lucy hops up onto the bed next to Lena, circles a few times, and sits down with her head on her paws. Her head pops up every now and again when there’s a roll of thunder, ears pricked up and alert, but thankfully she doesn’t move to get up. The storm is passing. By the time Kara is finished in the bathroom, Lucy has fallen asleep, her breaths deep and even. 

“I guess I’ll sleep on the couch,” Kara says, glancing at Lucy who has taken up the entirety of what used to be her side of Lena’s bed.

Lena shuffles herself towards the middle of the bed and flips the covers back in invitation. “I think Lucy would want you here.” Maybe Lena should feel bad about shamelessly using her dog to get Kara into bed with her. She makes a note to give Lucy extra treats in the morning for her good work.

Kara’s eyes flick over to the gently snoring Lucy and she shrugs before slipping in next to Lena. She lays stiffly, like a mummy in a sarcophagus, hands folded over themselves on her stomach, eyes looking straight up to the ceiling. 

“Are you still cold?” Lena asks.

“A little,” Kara admits.

Lena shuffles closer, rests her head on Kara’s shoulder. Slides her arm across Kara’s hips. It’s how they used to fall asleep most nights, and Lena is struck by just how much she missed this.

“Better?” Lena asks, a bit worried at how stiff Kara is lying beneath her.

Kara releases a long breath and gradually relaxes. She even shifts to wrap her arm around Lena’s back, her hand coming to rest on her hip. “Better.” 

Lena closes her eyes. Takes a moment to listen to the rain pattering against the windows, the occasional roll of distant thunder, the gentle snores of Lucy at her back, the close and steady beat of Kara’s heart under her ear.  

“I went to see Lex,” Lena eventually lets out.

The small circles Kara had been tracing on Lena’s hip with her thumb come to a stop. “You did?” 

“Yeah.” The circles resume, and Lena breathes a shaky sigh. 

“Are you okay?” Kara asks. 

Lena thinks for a moment before she nods against Kara’s shoulder. “I’m okay.” She shifts onto her stomach, propping herself up onto her elbows so she can look at Kara properly. “I’m actually better than okay.” 

Kara’s brows arch in surprise. “Lex was...good?” she asks tentatively.

“God no, he’s still the hateful maniac I sent to prison and I hope he rots.”  Kara frowns, confused. “But seeing him...it helped me realise something.” 

“Oh? What’s that?” 

Lena hesitates, drops her eyes to where her fingers are toying with the drawstring on Kara’s sweatshirt. “That I’m not like him,” she says quietly. 

“Well, I could have told you that. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve been telling you that since we met.” Kara points this out gently, her hands coming up to take Lena’s. 

“I know. It meant everything to me. That someone like you could see something good in me, that I wasn’t just another Luthor. I just…”  Lena drops a tentative kiss onto Kara’s knuckles. The skin is soft against her lips, and something about it gives her the nerve to continue.  

“When you came out as Supergirl, all I could think about was Lex. What it was like to live in that house, with him and his obsession with Superman. I couldn’t separate the two of you, and I realised that that’s not fair. I was seeing you as your cousin, and that’s exactly what I didn’t want the world to do to me. What happened between my brother and your cousin—that’s their story. But we...we get to write our own.”

Lena lifts her head to meet Kara’s eyes, filled with such fragile hope it makes her want to cry.

“How do you see our story going?” Kara asks, her voice barely a whisper. 

Lena bites her lip, conscious of the fact that Kara is asking her what she wants, what she  _ really _ wants, deep down in her heart. And Lena has only one answer. 

“Well…I just see us. Kara and Lena, not a Super and a Luthor. We’re not perfect, and it’s not always easy, but we work together, and we always try.”

Kara hums, giving Lena’s words some thought. “And Lucy?”

Lena laughs shortly and nods. “Lucy’s there too. She’s wearing that blue jacket you got for her.”

“Not the hotdog costume I got her for Halloween?”

“She’s going as Princess Leia; we’ve already discussed this,” Lena retorts stubbornly. Kara just laughs and moves a piece of Lena’s hair out of her face, her thumb swiping over her cheek. “So…what do you think?” Lena asks, looking uncertainly at Kara. She hopes Kara can forgive her, that she still wants her. But the moment Kara smiles, all of Lena’s doubts and fears just melt away.

“I think...I really like this story. And I can’t wait to write it with you.” 

Lena mirrors Kara’s smile and eases down to press their lips together. Kisses her tenderly, kisses her fully. Kara’s strong arms wrap around her waist and it feels like coming home.

Thunder rumbles overhead, and Lucy sleeps on like a tuckered out puppy. 

 

//

_ 6 months later _ …

It’s not often that Lena gets to wake up to something other than her blaring alarm, or an idea for a project that has her shooting up in bed regardless of the time, or Lucy’s needy whines, or her girlfriend disappearing from their bed in a flash of pyjamas and cape that means the city is in peril. But on Christmas morning she is woken up by the sun, and is a gift in itself. 

Mid-morning sunlight filters lazily in through the cracks in the blinds, gently coaxing Lena from sleep, but she isn’t quite ready to wake up yet. She plans to spend Christmas morning cuddling with her girlfriend for as long as she pleases. 

Lena rolls over to do just that, pressing her back against the warm mass beside her and burying her nose into soft hair. “Morning, love,” she murmurs sleepily. Kara’s response is a soft snore, and Lena nuzzles further into her blonde locks. 

“—Rao, you would not  _ believe  _ the morning I’ve had. An evil Santa impersonator organisation infiltrated the christmas parade, armed to the teeth with alien weapons. So I had to fight off an army of energy-blasting Santas, Merry Christmas to me! Problem was, now the parade didn’t have a Santa! So guess who saved the day? You can call me Santagirl.” 

Lena blinks up in confusion at the red-coated, fuzzy hat wearing, white bearded Supergirl standing in the middle of her bedroom. But if Supergirl is there, then who…? 

_ “Lucy _ !” 

Lucy wakes up at Lena’s indignant yelp, yawning innocently as she blinks around the room. Confused by the Santafied Supergirl before her, Lucy hops off the bed to sniff at Kara’s boots and happily identifies her as one half of the amazing team that feeds and walks and loves her. 

Kara grins up at Lena as she scratches Lucy’s head. “Did Lucy pretend to be me to get in the bed again?” she asks, then ducks from the cushion Lena tosses at her head. 

“I can’t believe I keep falling for it,” Lena commiserates. She scoots to the edge of the bed, her toes just grazing the floor as she tugs Kara towards her by the bright red Santa jacket she’s wearing over her super suit. “Was the beard really necessary?” she asks, twirling her fingers into the long synthetic silver strands hanging from Kara’s chin. 

Kara laughs and goes to tug the beard down, but Lena catches her hands before she can. Kara quirks an eyebrow in question. 

“Leave it on. It’s...kind of doing it for me.” 

In a flash of superspeed, Lucy is outside the bedroom and the door is closed. Lucy is pretty used to being flashed to the opposite side of the apartment from time to time; Lena has a strict ‘no risky business in front of Lucy’ policy. 

Another flash, and Kara is back, wearing nothing but her Santa jacket, beard, hat, and a devilish grin. “It looks like you’re on my naughty list, Miss Luthor” she says in a sexy voice.

Lena, however, looks hurt. “Kara, you know I’m sensitive about people assuming I’m evil.” 

Kara’s eyes widen in panic. “Oh—I know, I just—I thought we were doing a bit—” 

Lena’s lips form a wicked grin, and Kara’s entire face scrunches up when she realises she’s been played. 

“Oh you are  _ definitely  _ on the naughty list now,” Kara growls and pounces on a squealing Lena. 

//

“Look what James sent over!”

Kara drops the heavy cardboard box on the counter with a thud that makes Lena’s coffee mug jump. Lena catches it and takes a sip as she spins around on the barstool to peer inside Kara’s mystery box. 

“Ooh, Catco Magazine,” Lena says upon seeing the stack of glossy magazines.

“Christmas edition!”

“Is the L-Corp story in here?” 

“Uh-huh, page sixteen.” 

Lena retrieves the top copy from the stack and flips it open. She can feel Kara’s grin against the cheek as she wraps an arm around her waist, puffing the pom-pom from Lena’s Santa hat out of the way so she can read over her shoulder. 

“Pets of L-Corp: how pets in the workplace brought employee satisfaction to an all-time high,” Lena reads aloud and finds herself smiling at a picture of her at her desk with Lucy sitting by her side. “Oh, I really love that picture of Jess,” Lena remarks at the photo of Jess posing happily with her iguana, Fluffy, perched on top of her head. 

“Great, isn’t it? James really captured Fluffy’s essence. Look at the by-line.” Kara bounces eagerly on the balls of her feet, almost causing Lena’s coffee to spill over with her exuberant jiggling. 

“By...Kara Danvers?! Kara!” Lena sets her mug down and spins around on the barstool to face her grinning girlfriend. “You told me you were just assisting on the piece, not that you were actually writing it!” 

“I wanted it to be a surprise. I know it’s just a fluff piece, heh, get it? Fluff piece. But, uh, Cat Grant said it was good! Or at least, she made this face when she read it.” Kara’s face goes firm and she nods her head slowly, squinting her eyes as though looking at something in the distance. “So I think that means she liked it!” she finishes with a grin.

“I’m so proud of you,” Lena says and pulls Kara in close. Then, she quickly gets up and rifles through some drawers, pulling out some scissors. She cuts the article out of the magazine and fixes them to the fridge with a proud nod. Another idea comes to her, and she grabs another copy from the box.

“What are you doing?” Kara asks, bemused as she watches her girlfriend whirl around the room.

“Posting one to cell block X,” Lena replies as she slips the magazine inside an envelope and seals it with a pleased grin. “I’m sure Lex would just  _ love _ to see this picture of Lucy with Supergirl.” 

//

Lucy has been acting strangely lately. All week, when Lena goes to give her dinner she finds Lucy’s food bowl practically untouched since breakfast. Lena knows something is wrong when Lucy doesn’t even react to her favourite (and Lena’s least favourite) word: “hike”.

Lena crouches in front of Lucy, chewing on her lip as she stares into Lucy’s green and blue eyes as though they might contain an answer. “What’s up with you, huh girl?” she asks quietly.

Lucy licks Lena’s cheek by way of response before she curls up on her bed with a sigh.

Lena frets and does what she can—giving Lucy her Tigger and playing Vivaldi over the apartment’s sound system—until Kara swoops in through the window, picking flecks of gravel from her hair from another night on the job. 

“You’re still up, love?” Kara asks upon finding Lena sitting on the couch with Lucy curled up by her side. 

“Hey,” Lena hums as Kara kisses her cheek from behind the couch. She twists around with worry in her eyes. “I think something’s wrong with Lucy.” 

Kara frowns and kneels down in front of Lucy, scratching her behind the ears how she likes. “What’s up, Lucy-goose?” 

“She’s barely eaten these past few days,” Lena says, chewing on her thumb. “Do you think she’s sick?” 

“I’m sure she’s fine, let me take a look at her,” Kara says, her voice a comforting thing in itself. She presses her ear to Lucy’s belly and listens. After a moment, her eyes go wide. “No way…”

Lena shifts on the couch, tucking her legs underneath her. “What is it?” she asks urgently. 

Kara looks intently at Lucy’s belly, using her x-ray vision, and barks a laugh. Lena squawks as Kara jumps to her feet and scoops Lena into her arms, spinning her around and around. 

“Lena!” she grins, “we’re gonna be puppy parents!”

 

 

THE END.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus: Cat Grant's dog is the father
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks everyone who read and enjoyed this story, it's been a ride. Hope the ending doesn't feel too rushed. It was supposed to be a silly romp all the way through but yknow, I just have too many Lena/Lex, Super/Luthor feels, I couldn't help it.   
> Check out my other fics if you're so inclined, and I have some new fic ideas rattling around in my brain that I'll get to eventually, so I'll be around. Until then hit me up on tumblr or leave a comment if you like.  
> Until next,  
> xxx

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr [@luthorjeans](http://luthorjeans.tumblr.com)


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